Zuckerberg Ties AI Costs to 8,000 Layoffs as Meta Shares Close Down 9%

Meta Platforms Inc shares closed nearly 9% lower after CEO Mark Zuckerberg said surging AI compute and infrastructure costs drove plans to cut 8,000 roles, or 10% of staff, starting May 20. The company hiked 2026 capex guidance to $125–$145 billion from $115–$135 billion, paused filling 6,000 open positions, and highlighted AI partnerships with AWS and Nvidia amid profitability worries. Earlier comments blamed a U.S. war in Iran since late February and higher oil prices for ad demand weakness, sparking an initial 8% post-Q1 drop and investor fears over tech spending.