Meta (META) Shares Plunge 8% Despite Massive $10B Texas AI Facility Expansion

Key Takeaways

• Meta expanded its El Paso, Texas AI infrastructure investment from $1.5 billion to $10 billion — representing a sevenfold expansion
• The installation is designed for 1 gigawatt capacity with an anticipated 2028 launch date
• The company announced hundreds of job cuts across various divisions on Wednesday
• Meta shares dropped 8% Thursday following two legal decisions holding the platform accountable for youth-related damages
• The company’s 2025 capital spending forecast reaches as high as $135 billion

Meta commenced construction on its El Paso infrastructure facility in October 2024 with an initial commitment of $1.5 billion. The investment has now ballooned to $10 billion. The revised figure was disclosed by Gary Demasi, Meta’s VP of data center development, during his presentation at the annual Borderplex Alliance summit held in El Paso.

The installation occupies a 1.2 million square foot footprint and aims to achieve 1 gigawatt of operational capacity when it becomes operational in 2028. This will represent the company’s third data infrastructure facility in Texas and joins approximately 30 facilities worldwide, with 26 located across the United States.

According to Meta, the development will employ over 4,000 construction personnel during peak construction phases and generate 300 full-time positions upon completion.

Meta Platforms, Inc., META

The technology giant also announced contracted initiatives that will contribute over 5,000 megawatts of renewable energy to the Texas power infrastructure. Addressing environmental concerns that have accompanied AI data center expansions nationwide, Meta emphasized it is implementing eight water restoration initiatives throughout the state.

Among these programs is a collaboration with nonprofit organization DigDeep to provide clean running water access to more than 100 households for the first time. The new installation will employ a closed-loop liquid cooling infrastructure that recirculates water, with Meta estimating water consumption levels comparable to a standard local golf course.

Legal Setbacks Drive Share Price Decline

Thursday’s 8% decline in META resulted from two separate judicial decisions finding the company responsible for damages to young platform users. The verdicts sparked investor concerns regarding potential modifications to the design strategies underpinning Meta’s advertising operations.

Shares have now declined 17% year-to-date. Unlike competitors Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, Meta lacks a cloud infrastructure division to balance its substantial AI expenditures — a reality that has attracted heightened investor scrutiny.

Meta disclosed in January that capital investments for 2025 would reach up to $135 billion, positioning the company among the largest investors in the ongoing AI infrastructure expansion. Collectively, Big Tech firms are expected to allocate over $630 billion toward AI infrastructure throughout this year.

Workforce Reductions Accompany Infrastructure Expansion

As the data center budget expands, Meta is reducing personnel. The company acknowledged hundreds of workforce eliminations on Wednesday spanning Facebook, global operations, recruiting, sales teams, and its virtual reality unit. A previous Reuters analysis suggested workforce reductions could impact 20% or more of employees.

Regarding hardware procurement, Meta finalized significant chip agreements with Nvidia and AMD in February and this week became the inaugural confirmed customer for Arm’s latest data center processor. The company also recently unveiled four new iterations of its proprietary MTIA AI accelerator chips.

Meta’s El Paso location was most recently photographed in March 2026, five months following the groundbreaking ceremony.

The post Meta (META) Shares Plunge 8% Despite Massive $10B Texas AI Facility Expansion appeared first on Blockonomi.