Zuckerberg cuts Meta employee bonuses by 5%, follows 10% reduction last year, despite AI splurge — $130 billion capex vision and eye-watering AI pay packages force efficiency elsewhere in the business

Source: Tom’s Hardware

Image credit: Getty / Anadolu

Bonus Reductions

Meta has reduced the stock‑option awards that staff receive by 5%, following a 10% cut in the same bonus the previous year. According to the Financial Times, the move comes as the company pours billions into capital expenditures while also offering salaries of up to $2 million【1】, $100 million bonuses【2】, and even a reported $1.25 billion offer to a single AI hire【3】.

Equity Refreshers and Performance Review

Meta refers to its stock‑option awards as equity refreshers, granted to most employees on top of base salaries and annual cash bonuses. The equity award is adjusted based on industry trends, and the company aims to maintain one of the largest pay packages in the sector. Despite the bonus cuts, Meta has revamped its performance‑review system, rewarding top performers with larger awards, which could lead to an overall increase in remuneration.

AI Investment and Infrastructure

Meta is aggressively competing with OpenAI, Google, xAI, and others to develop advanced large language models (LLMs) and eventually artificial general intelligence (AGI). In addition to lucrative compensation for AI talent, the company is investing heavily in AI infrastructure:

• Data‑center spending: In 2025 Meta announced a plan to spend at least $65 billion on data centers, including a 2 GW site with over 1.3 million Nvidia AI GPUs【4】.
• Rapid deployment: The company is deploying AI processors in tents to accelerate rollout, with a data‑center site described as “as big as Manhattan”【5】.
• Power supply: Earlier this year Meta secured a deal for 6 GW of nuclear power, enough electricity for 5 million homes【6】.

Layoffs and Workforce Impact

Investors have expressed concern over Meta’s massive AI spending, prompting the company to trim less‑performing units:

• In January 2026, the metaverse division cut 1,500 jobs.
• About 8,000 workers were let go in the previous year, part of the broader 100,000 tech‑industry layoffs reported by mid‑2025【7】.

Employee Reactions

Anonymous comments on Meta’s internal messaging board highlighted frustration with the bonus cuts, e.g., “Another reduction. I guess that’s what I get for trying! Bye Meta!” and “Cutting my work hours 5%.” Nonetheless, Meta continues to offer one of the industry’s most competitive compensation packages. Coupled with the broader uncertainty about white‑collar jobs in the age of AI【8】, a mass exodus of Meta staff appears unlikely.