Meta inks up to $27B Nebius AI deal and mulls 20% workforce cut
Meta Platforms agreed to purchase $12 billion of AI compute capacity from Nebius through 2027 with an option for an extra $15 billion over five years, totaling up to $27 billion. The company is weighing a 20% cut of its 79,000 workforce to offset a projected $135 billion AI infrastructure spend in 2026, potentially saving $6 billion.
1. Nebius AI Infrastructure Agreement
Meta Platforms signed a five-year contract to acquire $12 billion of AI compute capacity from Nebius by 2027 and secured rights to an additional $15 billion in capacity if unsold to other clients, bringing the total to $27 billion.
2. Potential Workforce Reduction
The company is considering a reduction of roughly 20% of its 79,000 employees to counterbalance rising AI investments; analysts estimate the move could save about $6 billion and boost adjusted core earnings by 5%.
3. AI Capital Expenditure Strategy
Meta projects a capital outlay of up to $135 billion in 2026, nearly double last year’s spending, to secure GPU and power capacity needed for training and running advanced AI models.
4. Stock Market Response
Shares climbed approximately 3% in premarket trading as investors reacted positively to the expanded AI capacity deal and anticipated cost savings from the proposed workforce cuts.