Meta, LinkedIn Layoff Terror: Workers 'Cry in Showers' While Training AI Replacements

Meta and LinkedIn have cut thousands of jobs in May 2026, as reported by multiple sources. The layoffs, affecting workers across the United States and other regions, have intensified concerns inside both companies over job security, workplace surveillance, and the growing role of artificial intelligence in reshaping Big Tech employment.

The news came after a broader wave of restructuring across major technology firms, where cost-cutting and AI investment have increasingly overlapped with workforce reductions even in companies still reporting strong revenue performance.

Details of Big Tech's New Wave of Layoffs

Meta's layoffs were reported on 20 May 2026, with BusinessToday citing Reuters stating that around 8,000 employees were affected, representing roughly 10 per cent of its global workforce.

The cuts are linked to internal restructuring priorities tied to artificial intelligence development, with impacts reported across multiple regions.

LinkedIn's reductions of over 600 roles were also reported in May 2026 by The Economic Times, with the majority of the impact understood to be in the United States, particularly California. The figure is widely cited as approximately 5 per cent of LinkedIn's global workforce, though it remains an estimate based on reporting rather than an official company disclosure.

Inside Meta, employees describe an atmosphere shaped less by the layoffs themselves and more by the uncertainty surrounding them. A longtime employee, speaking anonymously, said: 'For weeks, I checked my email every morning before deciding whether it was worth commuting to work.'

How Employees Are Coping With The Layoffs

Employees told The Standard, a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper, that internal chat groups have become filled with dark humour, including memes and jokes about layoffs and job insecurity. The remarks were published as part of the outlet's original reporting based on employee accounts gathered during its coverage of Meta's restructuring.

One employee described a growing sense of unease around workplace monitoring and AI development. 'If you're on a work machine, you are probably being surveilled. We're training our replacement and not being paid more for it,' the employee said.

What's the Deal With Meta's Internal System for Layoffs?

Reporting has referred to an internal system at Meta described as a "Model Capability Initiative," which is understood to track employee interactions on company devices to help improve artificial intelligence systems.

While external sources, including from outlets such as Reuters and the BBC, indicates Meta frames such systems as part of AI development rather than employee evaluation, staff concerns have focused on how workplace activity may be used to train models.

Employees have reportedly raised internal concerns, including petitions and informal pushback in some teams, over how such systems intersect with job security fears.

The impact is also being felt in daily routines. Employees describe hesitation around long-term decisions, from housing plans to family planning, as uncertainty over future roles continues to weigh on them. For some, even commuting decisions now depend on whether they expect their role to still exist that day.

Meta Layoffs And Internal AI Surveillance Concerns

At LinkedIn, where the platform itself is built around employment and hiring networks, workers are facing a parallel wave of uncertainty.

More than 600 employees in California are reportedly set to lose their jobs this summer, with the heaviest impact expected at the company's Mountain View headquarters. Reports suggest the cuts amount to roughly 5 per cent of LinkedIn's global workforce, though this figure has not been officially confirmed by the company and remains based on external sources.

The reductions come alongside continued revenue growth. In an internal memo circulated in May 2026 and reported by Business Insider, LinkedIn CEO Daniel Shapero outlined the need to "reinvent how we work," make "hard trade-offs," and redirect investment towards long-term priorities.

The memo, as published, does not explicitly cite artificial intelligence as the reason for the restructuring, but frames the changes as part of broader organisational priorities.

LinkedIn Layoffs And Restructuring Despite Revenue Growth

The internal memo has become a focal point for employees trying to interpret the direction of the company, particularly as hiring platforms themselves undergo restructuring while still serving as gateways to employment for millions of users.

Across Silicon Valley, workers inside major tech firms are increasingly reading these changes as part of a wider shift rather than isolated cost-cutting measures. Even profitable companies are streamlining teams and redirecting resources, often towards AI-related development and automation.

A Meta employee, speaking anonymously, said: 'Even if we haven't lost our jobs to AI yet, we're being commoditised in advance.'

For many employees, the concern is no longer limited to layoffs alone, but the unpredictability surrounding how long roles will remain stable. Some say they are already considering exits not because they have been affected directly, but because the uncertainty itself has become difficult to manage.

Salaries remain high and offices remain operational, but employees describe a gradual erosion of the stability that once defined Big Tech employment. Inside companies once viewed as the pinnacle of professional security, that shift is increasingly being felt in quieter, more personal ways that do not always appear in official announcements.