Meta boosts Becerra as it begins mass layoffs, drawing fresh attacks from Steyer
Meta contributed nearly $1 million to an effort to help elect Democrat Xavier Becerra governor on Tuesday on the eve of mass layoffs expected to effect roughly 8,000 employees.
The $950,000 check went toward an independent expenditure committee helping to elect Becerra rather than directly to the former state attorney general’s campaign. Still, Tom Steyer, his closest Democratic rival in the race to replace Gov. Gavin Newsom, seized on the news as proof that Becerra would be an ally to increasingly unpopular tech companies.
“Mark Zuckerberg wants a friend in Sacramento,” Steyer said, referencing Meta’s CEO and founder. “I won’t be.”
Becerra spokesperson Jonathan Underland noted the campaign had no control over who decided to give toward the independent committee.
“As attorney general, he led California into a multistate antitrust action against Facebook over its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp,” Underland said. “That’s who Xavier Becerra is — someone who doesn’t ask how powerful an interest is, or how big their check was, before deciding to hold them accountable. Anyone who threatens Californians’ safety or quality of life will answer for it.”
Meta’s layoffs are expected to affect 10% of its workforce, the company said last month. The New York Times reported the company’s offices were mostly empty Wednesday as executives urged employees to work from home. The layoffs are driven in part by disruption from AI, the Times reported.
Becerra has been beset by attacks from rivals, and particularly Steyer, as he’s emerged as the leading Democrat ahead of the June 2 primary. A poll commissioned by the California Democratic Party released Tuesday showed Becerra with 21% support, one point behind Republican Steve Hilton, compared to 15% for Steyer. The top two finishers in the primary, regardless of their party affiliation, advance to the general election in November.
Steyer, a former hedge fund manager and longtime Democratic donor, has also slammed Becerra’s campaign for accepting a maximum $39,200 contribution from Chevron.
In an email to reporters Wednesday, the Steyer campaign highlighted a 2019 New York Times report noting that as attorney general, Becerra was initially absent from an effort by other states’ attorneys general to lead antitrust investigations into Google and Meta. Becerra’s office later joined lawsuits against both companies.
The pro-Becerra committee can’t coordinate directly with Becerra’s campaign, but unlike the campaign, can accept unlimited contributions. It has run ads attacking Steyer for his past investments in private prisons and defending Becerra’s record as attorney general and U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services, noting his successful lawsuits against President Donald Trump during Trump’s first term.
In recent weeks, a number of business and industry groups have cut large checks to the pro-Becerra committee, including $1 million from Airbnb, $450,000 from the California Association of Realtors, and $500,000 from California Resources Corporation, an oil and natural gas company.
In recent debates, rivals have drawn attention to the source of Steyer’s wealth, including his investments in fossil fuels.
Those arguments have been echoed by ads from a separate anti-Steyer committee, which has hammered the billionaire for his overseas investments. Steyer has seemed at times to relish the attention from the group given its donors which include PG&E, the California Association of Realtors and California Chamber of Commerce.
Steyer has now spent $196 million of his own funds on his campaign.
This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 1:52 PM with the headline "Meta boosts Becerra as it begins mass layoffs, drawing fresh attacks from Steyer."
