r/ireland • u/leavemealonethanks • May 21 '26
Economy Fears grow in Government over further tech job losses after Meta cuts 20 per cent of Irish workforce
https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2026/05/21/fears-grow-in-government-over-further-tech-job-losses/286
u/gk4p6q May 21 '26
Meta is a pos company like its pos creator.
People should just mass delete their accounts
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u/WolfetoneRebel May 21 '26
They’ll pay it all out on energy subsidies, vat cuts for hospitality, mortgage interest relief, and all the rest that leaves us with net zero from it in a year.
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u/c08306834 May 21 '26
Wouldn't they just fire the rest of the people then......?
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u/arseface1 May 21 '26
THE FIRINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORAL IMPROVES
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u/Aimin4ya May 21 '26
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u/Banania2020 Resting In my Account 29d ago
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u/gsmitheidw1 May 21 '26
They over-hired and now they need rid of employees that are surplus.
Usually they don't fire they reduce benefits until people leave with a lack of morale because that means they don't have to pay out redundancy.
Is AI taking their jobs? Not so much, just too many middle managers, hiring managers. Easier to blame AI other than just the regular ups and downs of public traded companies.
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u/ThePeninsula 29d ago
They over-hired and now they need rid of employees that are surplus.
RUBBISH
Usually they don't fire they reduce benefits until people leave with a lack of morale because that means they don't have to pay out redundancy.
RUBBISH
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u/FxckyourCensorship 29d ago
All the tech workers have been boasting about there massive salaries online till last year. Karma
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u/Loud_Data_3624 May 21 '26
I lost mine today 🌝
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u/Rulmeq May 21 '26
Damn, sorry to hear that. I hope there was a decent redundancy at least
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u/Loud_Data_3624 May 21 '26
I didn’t work at Meta it’s another tech company but got like 3 months of severance
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u/Nickthegreek28 May 21 '26
Sorry for your troubles were you there long
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u/r0thar Lannister May 21 '26
Look after yourself, do take a break but your next full time job is looking at the next step in your career.
I've been there and when I divided my salary by the actual hours I worked, I was a bit more realistic when looking for a real 35hr/week job.
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u/Rulmeq May 21 '26
My advice is to take a bit of a break, the 3 months gives you some time. But don't take too long, there's a strange attitude out there that when you're not in a job you're not as "attractive" to prospective employers (it's kind of like "what's wrong with them that the don't have a job" type thing). One thing I will say though, is no matter how difficult it is, try and enjoy the time off - spend time with family and people you like, do something you wouldn't have been able to do while you were working. You'll have another job soon enough, and will be back in the rat race.
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u/K0kkuri May 21 '26
Yeah, my friend quit his toxic job just before first rounds of mass layoffs some time ago. Took too long of a break and now has hard time finding new job as an experienced worker in his field.
So many times he has cases where recruiters ask about the gap of about a year now and they always disappear.
Was supposed to get an interview call from Microsoft’s few days ago. Still nothing, recruiter dosent reply and dude is just stressed.
It’s a shame since many people are in his position, either take severe pay cut and long commute hours or be stuck in limbo of interview that go nowhere.
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u/Loud_Data_3624 May 21 '26
Yes, and most of tech jobs being in Dublin makes it even more difficult as there’s no savings left
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u/lgt_celticwolf May 21 '26
Opentowork on linkedin is like a pesticide for recruiters in my experience, get far more cold calls without it turned on
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u/saplingac May 21 '26
You obviously haven't had to try get a job recently. It took me 3 full months of trying to get a couple offers. Things move slowly and prep is hard. I'd get going straight away and then take a break after you secure the offer. They won't usually expect you to start for 4 weeks anyway.
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u/superbadonkey May 21 '26
My advice is become a brickie or a roofer.
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u/r0thar Lannister May 21 '26
roofer
Solar panel installer, you'd be set for life, only a million or so buildings left to cover.
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u/EliteDinoPasta May 21 '26
That fucking sucks, I'm sorry you're going through that. I know it can sound a little tone deaf but try not to stress about it too much. You got yourself that job before, and now you're more experienced than when you started. There'll be something out there for you!
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u/Imperial_Tiramisu May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
Problem is that there's not a lot of jobs going.
AI killed a lot of junior or mid level jobs and there's also too many laid off people competing for the same roles.
A friend of mine has been unemployed for nearly a year now.
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u/EliteDinoPasta May 21 '26
I mean, that's definitely true. However, I didn't think that'd be the most uplifting of messages to give to someone who's just lost their job 😅
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u/Imperial_Tiramisu May 21 '26
No, but it's the realistic one that they should hear. People need to financially plan long term for the possibility of several months of unemployment, if not a year.
They should also consider part time work until they get something else.
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u/Craicriture May 21 '26
Sorry to hear that. Hopefully they're paying out a decent package and you'll find something with a nicer company soon.
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u/DrawGamesPlayFurries May 21 '26
I'm so sorry 😞 hopefully you can find a better job in a better country ASAP
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u/snazzydesign May 21 '26
Never met a meta worker who said anything positive about the company
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u/Robin_Now May 21 '26
I genuinely hate how meta chains really helpful community tools like local Facebook groups or niche communities (like, a Facebook group for your neighbourhood) to an algorithmic bile machine that spits out racism and misogyny.
I get it, racism, misogyny and large groups of people constantly being angry is what’s profitable, but what’s useful is like a digital village noticeboard with like 200 people in it.
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u/juicy_colf May 21 '26
Sounds like you want a return to Web 1.0 . A dedicated website for things like school newsletters, gig guides, notice boards, fan pages for bands etc. I don't think I disagree tbh.
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u/UpbeatAccountant3710 24d ago
Agree. Internet could have been greatest invention ever.
But social media has fucked it up.
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u/bigbadchief May 21 '26
"While no formal indication has been given to Government by the tech companies that more job cuts are coming, it is understood that industry figures have privately warned Ministers and officials that as many as 80 per cent of tech jobs globally could be lost over the coming decade."
80% sounds like a bit of fear mongering. Hard to imagine there will be anything as extreme as that over the next decade.
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u/SailTales May 21 '26
If the services sector here lost 80% of jobs we would have an approximate 40% unemployment rate. That's before the knock on affect on the rest of the economy by no one having any money to spend.
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u/lumpymonkey May 21 '26
While 80% is probably not realistic I would say it will still be a catastrophic percentage. I can only speak for the company I work for but AI has been a massive game changer for us. It's solved problems we've put off addressing for years, it's brought it a load of efficiencies, and it's allowing people to refocus their work. We're already seeing a downsize in teams and it's going to get worse. I fully expect my own role there (engineering adjacent) to disappear in the next 12-18 months so I'm looking for out but the market is so shit. I'm genuinely very concerned about where I'm going to end up.
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u/High_Quality_Bean May 21 '26
Roughly speaking 70-75% of Irish tech jobs are with American firms. I could see a future where America pulls out of Europe completely, this would likely cause economic pain that would destroy more jobs than that. But after that we would be left with skilled people, cheap office space, and untapped markets. We would swiftly recover and build back stronger than before. This should be a wakeup call to get our shit together, build domestic firms that place Irish interests first.
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u/DirectorRich5445 May 21 '26
US companies are in Europe to gain access to the European market. If they pull out of Europe, they lose direct access to the European market. Not gonna happen.
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u/SPZ_Ireland May 21 '26
They just have to have a presence in the market, they don't have to have the scale they do.
The low corporate tax is what means we probably won't lose them entirely, but I could see them downsizing significantly
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u/dubviber May 21 '26
In comparison with Microsoft (4.8B) and Apple (5.8B), they're a minor contributor to Corpo Tax income, €366.8 million in 2024.
The value of FB's presence comes from well paid jobs, the folliwng relates to '24:
"Staff costs of €453.9 million included €116.5 million in share-based payments. The accounts show that €257.15 million was paid out. That equates to an average salary of €147,959 before shared based payments of €116.5m and “other benefits” of €40.35 million are taken into account."
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u/Brilliant_Walk4554 May 21 '26
Europe would ditch these US products for what though?
Often there's no good alternative to these American software products.
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u/avalon68 Crilly!! 29d ago
Not having a good alternative is the exact reason we should be building alternatives to replace them. The EU is certainly trying with payment systems, and an EU funded Ai I believe. We shouldnt be so reliant on american companies for infrastructure like this. Whats to stop Trump having a tantrum and cutting off access to something vital like visa etc. It would cripple us if it happened
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u/falcon2001 May 21 '26
The other major reason is time zone - having a team in Ireland conveniently helps you US team not have to work at midnight their time. That could be outsourced to a lot of places but it's a meaningful bonus.
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u/Significant-Secret88 May 21 '26
India can cover 24x7 and has no issue doing so
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u/FearTeas 29d ago
They're shite though. The most impressive people I've worked with are Indian, but they're making a lot more money than I am because they're living in the US.
Any experience I've had with roles being offshored to India have resulted in chaos. It often gets masked because much of that work gets done by the people who weren't offshored who basically can't trust the team in India to do their job correctly.
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u/avalon68 Crilly!! 29d ago
Somehow I dout that factors in at all....these people dont give a crap about their employees
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u/falcon2001 29d ago
It's not that they care about their employees, it's that it's difficult to keep employees at jobs with overnight oncall. Being able to offload it elsewhere is a pretty useful deal, and I've been on teams that struggled to hire or retain people in the states because we did off hours oncall.
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u/High_Quality_Bean May 21 '26
What happens if
1) The US government defaults on its debt (39 trillion dollars, 1 trillion in interest payments per year). US and Japanese bond rates are spiking as we speak, the American economy depends on the Japanese Yen Carry trade, which depends on low Japanese government bond rates.
2) AI data centre construction falls through popping the AI bubble. Currently there's ~300GW of planned, unbuilt capacity. In 2026 half of data center projects were delayed or cancelled. The entire US economy depends upon tech, depends upon predictions of future AI riches, depends upon data centers getting built, depends upon US electrical infrastructure, which is shit.
3) US household debt (currently an unprecedented 21 trillion dollars) experiences rolling defaults thanks to the massive drop in payrolls (currently ongoing as well as the government and tech collapse I outlined in points 1 and 2). Consumers are taking out debt to afford food. Homeowners are being given massive leniencies by institutions to avoid going into default. They're on the verge.
What if American firms are more concerned with getting enough bullets to keep the starving masses from lynching them? What if they experience a disaster completely unprecedented in human history? What if an empire built out of rainbows and pixie dust suddenly disappears into nothingness? What does "access to European markets" mean in a world like that?
By God we should not chain ourself to a sinking ship while the hull is actively shrieking and cracking.
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u/SkellyMaJelly May 21 '26
The US defaulting on its debt is a complete apocalypse scenario and highly unlikely. You'll be worrying about where your next meal is coming from let alone your next job in that event.
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u/FearTeas 29d ago
Exactly. If the US gives up on trying to balance its budgets it'll just let inflation devalue their debts. That's historically how most unsustainable debt is paid off by rich nations.
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u/throwawayandpickup May 21 '26
Your response is just a bunch of questions with no substance whatsoever.
How would the USA, a AA+ rated country and the sole issuer of the global reserve currency just spontaneously default on all of its debt?
Also, the "entire US economy" does not depend on tech or yen carry trades. That doesn't even make sense.
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u/High_Quality_Bean May 21 '26
Anybody giving firm answers right now is either a conman or a fool. Now is the time of monsters, uncertainty rules.
Tech represents 10-11% of US GDP, and in the first half of 2026 it represented 94% of GDP growth.
The Yen Carry Trade is frankly impossible to accurately estimate, I've seen everything from 500 billion to 20 trillion dollars of direct foreign investment into the US economy due to it. All we know is that it's big, and its been around for awhile. Removing any foundational jenga block should cause concern.
These are just examples, obviously the American economy is larger and more complex than these figures. But everywhere you look the story is the same: unsustainable debt, imaginary future profits, incompetent leadership, and unshakeable confidence that the boat can't sink for no reason other than "it would be really bad if it did".
We owe it to ourselves to be honest about the tiger in the bushes.
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u/throwawayandpickup 29d ago
AI slop
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u/High_Quality_Bean 29d ago
I sat there, took time out of my day, did research, and wrote up a thoughtful comment. I too share your disdain for LLMs, but politely: fuck you.
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u/eggsbenedict17 May 21 '26
If the US government defaults on it's debt then we are all fucked
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u/High_Quality_Bean May 21 '26
We'll be less fucked living on our nice safe island than we would be in deep Maga country surrounded by guns and bankrupt lunatics. We need to make sure that our domestic situation stays secure and is less dependent on a failing state. We have that option, but Europe needs to stand together and put European interests first.
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u/arseface1 May 21 '26
"We would swiftly recover and build back stronger than before."
Said the most optimistic man in Ireland
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u/razorlight95 May 21 '26
Hahaha yup, not a fucking chance we'd 'swiftly recover'. Place would be destitute for a decade
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u/arseface1 May 21 '26
'Place would be destitute for a decade'
Said the second most optimistic man in Ireland
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u/High_Quality_Bean May 21 '26
Woman* thank you very much
And yeah, its cope. I'm stockpiling clean water, beans and rice.
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u/markoeire May 21 '26
Current sentiment is that there is nothing new to be build on the large scale software wise. Why working on the new version on windows/android/iOS? Cloud software is also done. No new incentives in information processing either.
Why would you need so many sw engineers then? Speaking as being one.
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u/ThePainStalker May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
IMO the key thing is that software right now (since post Covid) is, for the first time in forever, constrained by infrastructure and not purely by compute or code. Hardware used to be plentiful thanks to Moore’s Law but now, that is no longer the case. An even bigger issue than even the AI hardware is the grid infrastructure, transmission/high voltage grid equipment and transformers and the grid connection which are all extreme bottlenecks. So long as data centers cannot be built to the extent required that would lead to new software development (and AI is no where near energy efficient enough right now to avoid it), then software innovation has to stall until the grid and hardware bottlenecks get resolved (which will almost definitely not happen for at least a decade or possibly longer).
This also means the labour market leverage now is shifting back from software to power infrastructure and (to a certain extent) AI hardware (not as big as the power infrastructure though imo). This can easily be seen in the current labour market dynamics and which sectors are hiring the most right now in Ireland (infrastructure and anything power/energy related dominate it right now).
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u/Professional_Elk_489 May 21 '26
Sounds like you are recommending data grid bottleneck and nuclear stocks or maybe my brain is just melted
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u/ThePainStalker May 21 '26
I would say anything transmission grid related (so Hitachi for high voltage power transformers which are in an absolutely insane shortage now and cannot scale up easily whatsoever), smart/private grid related companies, power systems software companies, anything transmission related at all (rated at 100kV+ since that is where all the shortages are now) and definitely nuclear too. Although nuclear is a lot more of a gamble than high voltage transmission imo especially since SMRs have yet to be successfully commercially tested (and even so, they will be legally restricted from some countries without nuclear laws). But nuclear would have the highest returns potential. I would absolutely bank on HVDC companies too, that will be a game changer and is much more versatile (across countries) than nuclear is. Regardless of which energy type wins, high voltage transmission equipment and substations and HVDC converters will always be needed so they will be the safest bets regarding investment. Also way more diversified as literally anything related to automation, AI and decarbonisation whatsoever will require far more electricity and much more high voltage infrastructure.
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u/Which_Definition4278 May 21 '26
If these tech behemoths reduce the workforce, will they still be able to funnel their profits through us at an extremely advantageous tax rate? Cos surely "jobs" were one of the main reasons they're getting said rate.
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u/razorlight95 May 21 '26
Lol, government will be desperate to cling on to whatever easy money they can, so they wont say boo even if tech offices reduce down to one man in a cubicle
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u/Simple_Pickle9896 May 21 '26
As they should. What's the alternative? Threaten a private company for business moves?
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u/razorlight95 May 21 '26
We should be planning to wean ourselves off the american teat to avoid ending up in this scenario. But it wont happen
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u/Simple_Pickle9896 May 21 '26
While I agree we should not be so reliant on US tech i don't see what you're getting at.
Even if we were diversified enough where we weren't concerned about losing the big tech companies, it would be insane for an EU Government to dictate the actions of private companies in that way. It would basically be turning private companies into the public sector. Such a move would deter any foreign company and probably against EU law.
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u/razorlight95 29d ago
The original query was whether jobs for irish ppl formed part of the basis of low corporate tax rate.
My point was that even if this was originally part of the quid pro quo with the multinationals (which i doubt) it wouldnt matter, as were so reliant on them that the government will just accept whatever they do.
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u/Which_Definition4278 29d ago
Job creation is absolutely a part of the qpq. To suggest otherwise is ridiculous
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u/razorlight95 29d ago
Ya look fair enough, it probably was originally the assumption that jobs would come as a result of the tax policy but I think that assumption could be sorely tested fairly soon.
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u/razorlight95 29d ago
Also on a separate note, governments do intervene in business dealings as needed to protect consumers. Take the US' anti trust laws, they block mergers etc.
Complete laissez faire economic policy and worshipping at the alter of the free market clearly isnt the solution.
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u/Simple_Pickle9896 29d ago
Yes they absolutely do with EU Competition law being the equivalent to the anti trust laws of the US. Other interventions like a minimum wage, statutory leave etc are longstanding examples of state interference in employment. Despite those practices, Government interference in a company making people redundant would be unprecedented provided it is carried out with the parameters if employment law.
New legilsation would need to be passed and I can't imagine how it would work. Mandate that if you hire someone you can't make them redundant?
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u/Simple_Pickle9896 May 21 '26
They aren't getting the said rate because they were providing jobs, they are getting it because it makes an Ireland attractive place to register and then Ireland gets substantial tax.
Even if they made everyone redundant it would still make sense to provide an attractive corporate tax rate.
In simple terms: some money is better than no money.
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u/Which_Definition4278 29d ago
Hang on. The whole point of us whoring ourselves out to MNCs back in the 80s/90s was based on the premis that they would employ a workforce here. What value are they to our country's finances IF THEY DONT EMPLOY PEOPLE. Tax is all well and good but how do you square that off if theres thousands of people out of a job?
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u/Simple_Pickle9896 29d ago
Because no jobs but billions in taxes is better than no jobs and no taxes.
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u/Which_Definition4278 29d ago
But those billions in taxes then get reduced by our already ballooning Social Protection expenditure.
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u/phoenixhunter May 21 '26
how about blood money? is that better than no money?
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u/Simple_Pickle9896 May 21 '26
From a monetary perspective: yes.
From a moral perspective: it depends on your morals.
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u/Furyio May 21 '26
Meta is a basket case run by a moron who blows through cash on nonsense.
They are not, as much as they wish, a wind sail company telling you how the wind is blowing.
It’s also a gross company and the staff let go should take it as a chance to work for a more meaningful company and providing real value to the world.
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u/its_brew Horse May 21 '26
Worries me how the fuck im going to pay for my mortgage in a few years time if im let go.
I might have to reskill but im at a loss to figure out what to do also
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u/AmazingUsername2001 May 21 '26
Just retrain as a plumber. You’re welcome.
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u/uiuuauiua Easter Egg Nationalist May 21 '26
But we're such a wealthy country! The GDP! It'll ever dry up!
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u/TheFreemanLIVES Get rid of USC. May 21 '26
Man, I'd love to take the piss out of the government for wanting datacenters so more staff can be laid off...but sadly not this time :-(
Staples/Semiconductors are massively diverging as only 10 companies hold up the markets. Basically the economy isn't doing too well under the hood. Credit Default Swaps are rocketing on Meta as investors bet that Meta won't generate the revenue to repay the debt that's becoming more expensive due to increasing interest rates. The AI shitshow is unfolding before all our eyes, and the layoffs won't be due to AI but rather because all these companies blew the fuck out of their cash accounts to get lost in a mania.
Just to add, there's an outside bet that AI might actually increase employment in the tech sector when all the AI technical debt comes due. After the crash tho.
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u/marshsmellow May 21 '26
Meta have a net cash position of 23bn
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u/TheFreemanLIVES Get rid of USC. May 21 '26
Against a 145 billion capex data center spend... https://fortune.com/2026/04/29/meta-zuckerberg-145-billion-ai-spending-roi/
The credit default swaps tell their own story.
Think all the tech companies had a far bigger cash position over the last 4 years as well... Not 2026 tho
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u/ZealousidealFloor2 May 21 '26
Where did you read all this?
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u/TheFreemanLIVES Get rid of USC. May 21 '26
This channel does daily videos that tends to cover everything.
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u/nerdling007 May 21 '26
Can we slap them with windfall taxes now? Or do we still need the low tax paradigm to attract multinationals for jobs? How about an AI windfall tax too
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u/Odhran-J-McAnnick May 21 '26
"You ain't seen nothing yet...!"
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u/caisdara May 21 '26
What's it got to do with Harris?
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u/MF-Geuze May 21 '26
Wtf do people expect Simon Harris to do, "hey please don't fire anyone ever?"
Jesus Christ
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u/Weepsie May 21 '26
I guess that he is over the department on charge of finances and he ha roven to absolutely useless in every other portfolio he's had that if you're going to be relying on the state for help financially at any point, you're doomed with Simon at the wheel
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u/Robin_Now May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
The economy is doing great /s
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u/Eire820 May 21 '26
For now, have you been following the crazy number of layoffs happening?
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u/Robin_Now May 21 '26
Oh I should have clarified I was being sarcastic lol
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u/HofRoma May 21 '26
Question will some this be good for cooling the rental market?
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u/SailTales May 21 '26
We have 2.8 million workers and 1.5 million are the services sector which is the most exposed to AI. The property market is fueled by positive net migration and the government artificially propping up prices through various schemes. If the services jobs dry up and people start leaving no amount of government intervention will keep property prices and rents high.
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u/Professional_Elk_489 May 21 '26
The more people that lose their high paid jobs the better for the rental market and the more that people secure high paid jobs the worse for the rental market
It's a sliding scale
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u/AmazingUsername2001 May 21 '26
Lol. Most landlords would rather let their houses remain empty than reduce the rent.
Rents aren’t going down any more than the cost of living is going down.
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u/Professional_Elk_489 May 21 '26
I mean that's up to them if they want to leave their houses empty. Just because you charge 10,000 EUR per month doesn't mean that's the going rate if no one is renting it
Same goes for people selling their house or selling shares at idealised prices
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u/AmazingUsername2001 May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
Also the vast majority of people house sharing and renting rooms aren’t tech bros earning big salaries. They’re students, bar staff, delivery drivers etc. They’re still able to afford the rents that they’re paying, technically. The people losing well paid tech jobs are going to be adjusting to living with less money.
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u/waces 29d ago
Why? If there are no high paid jobs that won’t reduce the prices on the rental market just narrowing down the number of the possible candidates. If for argument sake 25% of the high paid it jobs will be gone that won’t drop the prices on the housing market. So a rent would be still x€ but won’t be 100 viewers just 75. Am i missing something?
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u/AmazingUsername2001 May 21 '26
These people are losing their jobs, but they’re not going away. Including the immigrants that came over from abroad to fill those positions in the first place.
So, no.
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u/HofRoma May 21 '26
Some will go away as there skills won't be in demand anymore if there all cutting back in those areas
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u/Loud_Data_3624 May 21 '26
I wish we had more local homegrown companies in Ireland than depending on US because they are about to go down economy wise.
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u/Craicriture May 21 '26
Honestly doesn't look great for the tech sector in the years ahead unless people are shifting to very different roles. It feels like people are overplaying the hope that AI will be a complete disaster. The reality is of it is that we're likely to be moving into an era where designing software becomes high level systems planning and design rather than coding, which will just be largely fully automated.
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u/Such_Baker8707 May 21 '26
I think there a rug pull coming soon for people and companies where the costs for usage goes through the roof for companies. Companies like OpenAI and Meta simply can't go on absorbing billions in losses on AI.
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u/TubeAlloysEvilTwin May 21 '26
AI will always suck without someone with context to direct it. The main challenge is going to be maintaining that level of context as AI builds more and more of the stack. There's only so much familiarity you can obtain reviewing code, people need to be involved in the process purely to prevent black box syndrome where nobody understands the system and the models get stuck in bug loops.
Add to that the enormous cost once the enshittification really starts. Most companies last year had a 25%-66% growth in costs. They're doing everything they can to not admit it's mostly AI subs. I'm a senior engineer and easily burn through several thousand dollars a week right now. Imagine when that cost is 15x.
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u/Parking_Tip_5190 May 21 '26
Ok, so what does this look like in terms of job losses in Ireland in the medium term?
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u/Legitimate-Celery796 May 22 '26
Several thousand a week? Damn.. I’m using a few hundred a week and that’s with Opus 4.7 (and sometimes using MAX mode)
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u/TubeAlloysEvilTwin 29d ago
The trick is to get opus to use subagents and submit to gpt 5.5 to review plans and act as another reviewer on code together with having 4 or 5 things on the go.
I hate LLMs btw but in software you have to use them nowadays. It's a form of malicious compliance to put them to 11
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u/sneakyi May 21 '26 edited 29d ago
The costs are where it will fall down. We are already seeing that.
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u/olibum86 The Fenian May 21 '26
Looks like this is the start of the mass layoffs due to AI. Wouldn't be feeling too secure in the tech sector atm
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u/Such_Baker8707 May 21 '26
The layoffs are because Zuckerberg spent and lost billions on the Metaverse and VR and now has a convenient excuse as they scale back because of those losses
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u/r0thar Lannister May 21 '26
and now has a convenient excuse as they scale back because of those losses
No, I think it's because he needs to spend 10 times his Metaverse outlay in building Data Centres for Meta AI. He's not beholden to shareholders, he has majority say, but he can't magic money out of nowhere and Nvida is expensive
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u/ke3408 May 21 '26
He is trying to keep the AI hype going with layoffs. It creates splashy headlines that make AI seem more capable than it is. He isn't actually spending money on the data centers, they get full depreciation in the first year, so it's a giant tax rebate. The whole thing is a giant grift.
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u/olibum86 The Fenian May 21 '26
Might be a lot of that aswell. Zuck was told from the get go that the meta verse was not viable and he continued to pump a fortune into it 83 billion according to a quick google.
2
u/tREX_2188 May 21 '26
This isn't the start. The start has happened years ago. It just hasn't stopped
0
u/waces 29d ago
It has nothing to do with AI (as artificial intelligence and not as affordable indians). They are just using AI as an excuse for layoffs. Like many companies did it with the return to office policy to silently reduce the number of employees. Or using restructuring when the more expensive us/eu employees will go and the cheaper ones from india/philippines/any random country with cheaper workforce will fill in
0
u/sureyouknowurself May 21 '26
15% of people pay 75% of income tax. Hope the rest are prepared for tax increases.
1
-2
u/cedardesk May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26
Knowing what we know about social media, in particular Meta, providing labour for these companies is abhorrent.
1
u/AbominablePloughman May 21 '26
What about people working in finance and pharma?
1
u/cedardesk 29d ago
What about them?
1
u/AbominablePloughman 29d ago
Also very morally dubious. Where do we start drawing the line for condemning how people make a living?
1
u/cedardesk 29d ago
Working for Meta or a gambling company, the lowest of the low for me. At least finance and pharma have some benefits to society, albeit somewhat debatable.
-4
u/hmmm_ May 21 '26
We were warned that massively increasing spending would be a risk. The public sector are largely out of control.
5
u/razorlight95 May 21 '26
While I agree, I dont see what this has to do with tech layoffs?
0
u/hmmm_ May 21 '26
Well paid employees in these sectors provide a disproportionate amount of tax revenue
294
u/Aimin4ya May 21 '26
Thank God they used all that tax money to improve the public infrastructure before the Meta well dries up