Just weeks after Meta laid off around 8,000 employees across multiple teams, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has pushed back against growing concerns that artificial intelligence will inevitably eliminate large numbers of jobs. Speaking during a live interview for Complex’s Idea Generation, Zuckerberg argued that the future of work may not be as bleak as many predict. According to him, the impact of AI will depend largely on whether companies use the technology to replace workers or to make people more productive.ALSO READ: Harsh Goenka's viral 3–30–300 rule is a powerful reminder about choosing friends wisely His remarks come at a time when Meta is aggressively investing in artificial intelligence while simultaneously cutting jobs and restructuring parts of its business.Zuckerberg says AI does not automatically mean fewer jobs Addressing fears that AI could lead to widespread unemployment, Zuckerberg said many people assume that job losses are unavoidable as automation becomes more advanced, reports The Business Insider. “People assume that’s inevitability. I don’t actually think it is.”ALSO READ: Annapurna Yojana Status Check The Meta chief said there are two different paths companies can take with AI. One focuses on automating work to reduce headcount, while the other focuses on building tools that help individuals perform better and become more productive. “If you focus on empowering people and making people more productive and that happens at a faster rate than companies get better at automating things, then in theory there should be more jobs in the future, not less.” According to Zuckerberg, the long-term employment outlook could improve if businesses prioritize AI systems that enhance human capabilities instead of replacing workers.Meta laid off 8,000 employees in May Zuckerberg’s comments come shortly after Meta eliminated approximately 8,000 jobs, representing about 10% of its workforce. Layoff notifications were reportedly sent in three phases at 4 AM local time on May 20, beginning with employees in Asia, followed by Europe and then the Americas. The cuts affected teams working in areas such as Integrity, cybersecurity and content design. At the same time, Meta reassigned roughly 7,000 employees to AI-focused projects as it accelerates its artificial intelligence ambitions. The company is also scrapping around 6,000 open positions as part of its broader restructuring efforts. For affected US employees, Meta is offering 16 weeks of severance pay, an additional two weeks of pay for every year of service and up to 18 months of COBRA health coverage.Meta’s AI reboot is costing billions Despite being one of the world's largest technology companies, Meta has faced challenges keeping up with rivals in the fast-moving generative AI race. Zuckerberg described the company’s AI strategy as a “reboot,” saying Meta has spent billions of dollars recruiting top talent and building its new SuperIntelligence Lab, which is less than a year old. Meta recently unveiled Muse Spark, its first large language model since the company invested $14 billion in Scale AI. Reflecting on the company's progress, Zuckerberg said: “Because I have acclimated to the good news along the way, I now think that we should be doing even better.” The company is dramatically increasing its AI spending this year. Meta plans to spend between $125 billion and $145 billion on capital expenditures, nearly double what it spent in 2025. Much of that investment is being directed toward AI infrastructure, including data centres, custom chips and model training.Meta still appears to be reshaping its workforce Meta’s latest quarterly filing showed a headcount of 77,986 employees as of April, up 1% compared to the previous year. However, the May layoffs suggest the company is still adjusting its workforce as AI becomes a bigger part of its strategy. During Meta’s first-quarter earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Susan Li acknowledged uncertainty about what the company’s ideal workforce size should be in the future. Zuckerberg also highlighted how AI could significantly change staffing needs. “If a team used to need 50 or 100 people and now needs 10,” he suggested, maintaining the larger team may no longer make sense. The company has said the latest job cuts are intended to improve efficiency and help offset rising AI-related costs.Zuckerberg’s view differs from other AI leaders Zuckerberg’s optimism stands in contrast to warnings from some of the biggest names in artificial intelligence. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has previously warned that AI could eliminate up to half of entry-level white-collar jobs within the next five years. Meanwhile, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has taken a more measured position, saying that concerns about an immediate AI-driven “job apocalypse” have not yet become reality.