Meta workforce falls 12% to 66,000 after summer layoffs

US tech giant Meta's workforce shrank 12% from the previous quarter to about 66,000 employees, Chief Financial Officer Susan Li said Wednesday.

Li disclosed the figures during the company's third-quarter earnings call, following layoffs over the summer that affected about 10% of its workforce, equivalent to around 8,000 jobs.

The parent company of Facebook and Instagram is expanding investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure and services.

Meta narrowed its full-year capital expenditure forecast to between $135 billion and $145 billion, raising the lower end from $130 billion. The spending supports the computing infrastructure needed to power its AI agents and foundation models.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg said more than 10 million people in the US and Canada had set up personal agents through the company's Muse AI assistant over the past month and a half.

The workforce decline came as Meta reported third-quarter revenue of $64.6 billion, up 26% from a year earlier and above analysts' expectations.

The company forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $73 billion to $76 billion, with the midpoint exceeding analysts' estimates.

Meta shares rose about 2.5% in extended trading following the results.