Meta laid off approximately 700 employees on Wednesday in a round of cuts that hit workers across Reality Labs, recruiting, sales, global operations, and Facebook. Less than 24 hours before the cuts were announced, Meta disclosed a new stock compensation program that could pay six of its top executives up to $921 million each over the next five years.

Affected employees were notified on Wednesday, though Meta confirmed some workers in certain locations may be informed in the coming weeks. Some impacted staff are being offered the chance to move into other roles within the company, in some cases requiring relocation.

 "Teams across Meta regularly restructure or implement changes to ensure they're in the best position to achieve their goals," a Meta spokesperson said in a statement cited by Bloomberg. "Where possible, we are finding other opportunities for employees whose positions may be impacted."

The cuts are the second round of layoffs at Reality Labs this year. In January alone, Meta cut more than 1,000 roles in the same division, roughly 10% of its headcount there, and shuttered three VR studios along with its work-focused metaverse platform, Horizon Workrooms. Meta employed nearly 79,000 people globally as of the end of 2025.

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What Are Meta's Executives Getting?

The stock program covers six of Meta's senior leaders: Andrew Bosworth, Chris Cox, Susan Li, Javier Olivan, Dina Powell McCormick, and C.J. Mahoney. The payouts are tied to growth targets extending through 2031, with the most ambitious scenario requiring Meta to reach a market capitalisation of $9 trillion, compared to roughly $1.5 trillion today. 

Under that scenario, Bosworth, Cox, and Olivan each stand to receive stock options worth up to $921 million, according to an analysis by compensation research firm Equilar. Li's ceiling sits at $161 million. Mark Zuckerberg wasn’t included in the program.

"This is a big bet," a Meta spokesperson said. "These pay packages will not be realized unless Meta achieves massive future success, benefiting all of our shareholders." It is the first time Meta has issued executive stock options since its 2012 IPO.

Where Meta Is Putting Its Money

Meta is projecting capital expenditure of between $115 billion and $135 billion in 2026, the bulk of it going into AI data centres. Zuckerberg said in January that AI will reshape how work gets done inside the company. "I think 2026 is going to be the year that A.I. starts to dramatically change the way that we work," he told investors. "We're starting to see projects that used to require big teams now be accomplished by a single very talented person."

Wednesday carried one further development. A Los Angeles jury found Meta liable for harm caused to a minor by Instagram's addictive design features, a ruling that could set a precedent for further lawsuits targeting social media platforms over user well-being. The verdict came in on the same afternoon as the layoffs.

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