India, April 27 -- Meta and Microsoft are the latest software companies to announce big cuts to their global workforce. Both companies are also making big investments in artificial intelligence (AI).

The link seems obvious. Meta's chief people officer, Janelle Gale, said the job cuts - about 10 per cent of staff or almost 8,000 workers - serve to "offset the other investments we're making".

Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has previously spoken about a "major AI acceleration" with spending in excess of USD 115bn planned this year.

Microsoft is also betting big on AI. The company also just announced early retirement packages for about 7 per cent of its US workforce.

The two tech giants join Atlassian, Block, WiseTech Global and Oracle, who ha...