Mark Zuckerberg is preparing to take the knife to his own creation once again.

Meta Platforms, the parent of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is lining up a global redundancy programme that will see roughly one in ten of its staff, about 8,000 people, shown the door from next month, with a second wave expected before the year is out.

The Silicon Valley giant has declined to put any figures on the record, but the direction of travel will be uncomfortably familiar to the tens of thousands of staff who lived through Meta’s self-styled “year of efficiency” in 2022 and 2023, when some 21,000 roles were stripped out as the share price slid and the company came to terms with a bout of Covid-era over-hiring.

This time round, the rationale is rather different. Meta is in robust financial health, but Mr Zuckerberg has committed to spending hundreds of billions of dollars reshaping the business around artificial intelligence. The trade-off, it seems, is that a leaner organisation with fewer management layers and AI-augmented engineers is expected to do the heavy lifting that armies of human employees once did.

According to Reuters, the initial tranche of cuts is pencilled in for May, with the timing and scope of the later round yet to be nailed down. Meta employed just shy of 79,000 people at the end of December, according to its most recent filing, meaning the opening salvo alone could remove close to a tenth of that headcount.

Meta is not moving in isolation. Amazon has already swept out 30,000 corporate staff in recent months, equivalent to nearly ten per cent of its white-collar base, while in February the fintech group Block let go of nearly half its workforce, around 4,000 jobs. In both cases, senior management pointed firmly at efficiency gains from AI as the justification.

The industry’s own body count bears that out. Layoffs.fyi, which tracks redundancies across the technology sector, puts the tally at 73,212 jobs lost in the first four months of 2026 alone. For the whole of 2024, the figure was 153,000, suggesting this year’s numbers are on course to eclipse anything seen in the post-pandemic shake-out.

Inside Meta, the reorganisation is already well under way. Teams within its Reality Labs division have been reshuffled in recent weeks, and engineers from across the group have been parachuted into a newly minted Applied AI unit. Its brief is to accelerate the development of AI agents capable of writing code and executing complex tasks without human hand-holding, the very capability, critics will note, that Mr Zuckerberg appears to believe can replace a sizeable chunk of his own workforce.

For Britain’s small and medium-sized businesses watching from across the Atlantic, the signal is a telling one. When the world’s largest technology employers openly argue that generative AI is now capable enough to displace thousands of skilled knowledge workers, the pressure on every other business to rethink how it organises, recruits and deploys talent only intensifies.

Whether the efficiency dividend materialises as cleanly as Mr Zuckerberg hopes remains to be seen. Meta’s 2022 cuts were followed by a sharp recovery in profitability and a soaring share price, vindicating his tough love approach in the eyes of Wall Street. A second act on a similar scale, however, will test whether AI can genuinely deliver the productivity miracle its champions promise, or whether Meta is simply exchanging one kind of risk for another.

Amy Ingham

Amy is a newly qualified journalist specialising in business journalism at Business Matters with responsibility for news content for what is now the UK’s largest print and online source of current business news.

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GREENVILLE, North Carolina — YouTube superstar MrBeast turned an ordinary grocery store into an extraordinary survival arena in his latest high-stakes video, challenging random shoppers to stay inside the longest for a chance to win $250,000 — a contest that quickly escalated into alliances, sabotage, emotional breakdowns and a stunning million-dollar twist.

The video, titled “Last To Leave Grocery Store, Wins $250,000,” dropped on April 18, 2026, and exploded in popularity within hours, racking up millions of views. In classic MrBeast fashion, the creator purchased and fully stocked a local supermarket, then invited everyday shoppers to compete by living inside it indefinitely until only one remained.

Contestants faced a grueling test of endurance, strategy and mental fortitude. They built makeshift forts in the aisles — including “Fort Freezy” near the freezers — gathered supplies, formed alliances like the Dream Team and Innovators, and navigated boredom, cold nights and interpersonal drama. Some participants left early upon realizing the commitment, while others dug in, creating sleeping areas from shelves, makeshift showers using produce section hoses and even workout routines with store equipment.

MrBeast kept the pressure high with escalating challenges. He introduced a red line that halved the available space, removed amenities like showers and bathrooms, and forced food donations across the boundary to help local communities. Sabotage incidents sparked chaos, including popped pool floaties that led to near-riots and accusations of theft involving burners and basketballs. Contestants dealt with dwindling phone batteries, family separation visible through store windows and tempting cash offers ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 to quit.

The competition featured memorable characters. A father-son duo, a pregnant participant in the Innovators group, and individuals like Xavian (accused of sabotage), Autumn, Robbie (who left for his daughter), Juan (celebrated a birthday with cake and a piñata) and Colin (eliminated for crossing the red line) added human drama. Alliances shifted as trust fractured over stolen items and strategic betrayals, turning the store into a microcosm of society under extreme conditions.

In a dramatic late twist, MrBeast offered the final contestants $1 million collectively if they agreed to restock the entire store and eat every item inside it. After deliberation, the remaining group accepted, transforming rivals into teammates with added perks like a gym, nutritionist and better sleeping arrangements. The video ends on this open-ended note, leaving viewers speculating how long the new challenge might last.

Production involved heavy sponsorship integration without disrupting the core entertainment. Square empowered local businesses by curating giveaway boxes featuring Greenville favorites like The Bread Lady and Blackbeard Coffee. Good Ranchers supplied U.S.-sourced meat to highlight quality concerns with typical grocery store products. Major brands including Unilever, Mondelez, Campbell’s, Procter & Gamble, Kellogg’s and others kept shelves stocked with recognizable items like Pringles, Tide, Bounty, Hellmann’s and more. Coca-Cola tied in a FIFA World Cup 2026 sticker promotion, with contestants earning tickets through skill challenges like scoring goals.

MrBeast promoted the event in advance with TV commercials, radio ads and flyers to draw genuine random participants rather than pre-selected contestants. All who stayed underwent standard review processes and had access to on-site medics and mental health support, addressing safety in the prolonged isolation format.

The video highlights MrBeast’s signature style: massive cash prizes, over-the-top production and feel-good elements. Beyond the competition, the challenge resulted in thousands of food items donated to those in need, turning spectacle into substance. Viewers praised the mix of chaos, strategy and humanity, with comments flooding in about favorite moments like fort-building, alliance formations and emotional family interactions through the glass.

This release continues MrBeast’s streak of ambitious real-life challenges that blend entertainment, philanthropy and viral appeal. Previous videos have featured extreme survival scenarios, massive giveaways and elaborate builds, consistently drawing tens of millions of views. The grocery store concept taps into universal curiosity — “imagine living in a grocery store” — while delivering escalating stakes that keep audiences hooked for the full runtime.

Social media reactions poured in rapidly after upload. Fans dissected strategies, debated who deserved to win and speculated on the million-dollar extension’s feasibility. Some compared it to other endurance challenges like last-to-leave circles or island survival videos, noting MrBeast’s unique ability to scale everyday settings into epic events. Reddit threads in r/MrBeast and broader discussions analyzed the psychological aspects, from alliance dynamics to the toll of boredom and confinement.

For MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, the video reinforces his position as one of YouTube’s most influential creators. Known for giving away millions and pushing production boundaries, he continues evolving the format while maintaining core values of generosity and fun. The grocery store challenge also spotlights practical themes like food sourcing, community support and the power of collective decision-making under pressure.

As the final contestants commit to the expanded million-dollar goal, questions linger about how long they can sustain the effort and what further twists MrBeast might introduce. The video’s open ending invites speculation and potential sequels, a common tactic that sustains engagement across his channel.

The production also benefited local economies through sponsorships and the initial 50% off sales that lured participants. MrBeast’s team emphasized ethical standards, ensuring participant welfare amid the unconventional setting. This attention to detail helps differentiate his content in an increasingly crowded creator space.

Within 24 hours of release, the video amassed tens of millions of views and hundreds of thousands of likes, trending across platforms. Clips of key moments — fort constructions, sabotage drama, emotional exits and the million-dollar reveal — circulated widely, amplifying reach beyond the full upload.

MrBeast’s consistent output of high-production challenges has built a dedicated global audience that tunes in for both the spectacle and the underlying positivity. This grocery store edition delivers on expectations while introducing fresh elements like brand integrations tied to real-world impact and the collaborative twist at the end.

As viewers digest the chaos and camaraderie, many are left reflecting on human resilience when basic needs meet extreme incentives. The video not only entertains but sparks conversations about strategy, morality in competition and the blurred line between game and real life when money and survival collide.

For now, the last contestants remaining in the store face an indefinite stay with the raised stakes. Whether they conquer the restock-and-consume challenge or face further MrBeast interventions remains to be seen — but one thing is certain: the internet is already hooked on this latest chapter of outrageous, heart-pounding content.

The full video is available on MrBeast’s YouTube channel, where fans continue to comment, theorize and celebrate another boundary-pushing production that turns the mundane into the unforgettable.

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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

This article was written by

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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

The article is for informational purposes only (not a solicitation or recommendation to buy or sell stocks). David is not a registered investment adviser. Investors should do their own research or consult a financial adviser to determine what investments are appropriate for their individual situation. This article expresses my opinions, and I cannot guarantee that the information/results will be accurate. Investing in stocks involves risk and could result in losses.

Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.