TECH NEWS – Meta could spend as much as $145 billion on artificial intelligence in 2026, after laying off 8,000 employees at the beginning of the year and moving another 7,000 workers into AI-related teams. Mark Zuckerberg has now told employees that the company fears it may still not be adapting quickly enough. The enormous transformation has yet to produce the expected results, while the atmosphere inside the company is becoming increasingly tense.

Meta is not the first company to bet enormous sums on artificial intelligence while fundamentally reshaping its organization, but with planned spending of up to $145 billion, Zuckerberg’s company has more to prove than most. The CEO recently acknowledged to employees that the transition may have become larger and more difficult to manage than originally expected. Although he used more measured language, the concern behind his comments was clear. Meta’s leadership fears that even its extraordinary level of spending and radical internal restructuring may not be enough to keep pace with the technology race. That concern carries additional weight after months in which thousands of employees have either lost their jobs or seen their roles change.

“We fear we are not fast enough to adapt,” Zuckerberg said. The company laid off 8,000 employees at the beginning of the year, before moving another 7,000 workers into teams connected to artificial intelligence in one way or another. According to reports, the constant restructuring has left workplace morale at Meta far from ideal.

Meta Could Spend Up to $145 Billion in 2026 Alone

Zuckerberg also admitted during the company meeting that the transformation process had not been clean. Sources close to Meta say the changes have created an extremely toxic working environment that employees describe as both exhausting and stifling. The uncertainty is intensified by the fact that Meta’s AI efforts have so far failed to deliver results capable of justifying the scale of the investment. The company is therefore trying to move even faster while the restructuring itself is already placing a heavy burden on the organization. Based on the current situation, there is little indication that the internal atmosphere will improve significantly in the near future. Zuckerberg nevertheless remains convinced that the investment could begin paying off soon.

The Meta CEO believes better times are close and expects the first tangible results of the company’s massive AI spending to appear within the next three to six months. That is a major promise at a time when several technology companies are investing enormous sums in artificial intelligence without demonstrating a clear return.

Meta is not alone in this position, as Microsoft and Amazon are caught in a similar investment cycle, while Google has remained somewhat more stable through the support of its broader business. Zuckerberg may have feared that Meta was moving too slowly in the AI transition, but layoffs and rapid employee transfers do not guarantee success on their own. The next few months may reveal whether the $145 billion push can deliver the breakthrough the company expects, or whether Meta paid too high a price in its attempt to keep pace with the artificial intelligence race.

Source: 3DJuegos