Meta will lay off 600 employees from its ‘bloated’ AI unit, despite a multi-billion dollar hiring spree earlier this year led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. A Meta spokesperson confirmed the job cuts to CNBC on Wednesday.
The layoffs were announced in a memo from Meta’s chief AI officer, Alexandr Wang. Employees in Meta’s AI infrastructure units, Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research unit (FAIR) and other product-related positions will be impacted.
‘Bloated’ AI unit
However, people familiar with the matter told CNBC that the layoffs will not affect employees in TBD Labs — a newer division that includes many of the high-profile AI experts hired earlier this year. The unit, overseen by Wang, was spared from the cuts, underscoring CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s confidence in his expensive new recruits over the company’s longer-serving staff.
People familiar with the matter said that within Meta, the AI division was considered bloated. Teams like FAIR often had to compete with more product-oriented teams for computer resources.
When Meta’s new recruits came on board to establish Superintelligence Labs, the division absorbed the already bloated Meta AI unit, the sources said. The latest layoffs are seen as an effort to streamline the department and solidify Wang’s position at the helm of Meta’s AI strategy.
Anger bubbles over Meta layoffs
{{/usCountry}}When Meta’s new recruits came on board to establish Superintelligence Labs, the division absorbed the already bloated Meta AI unit, the sources said. The latest layoffs are seen as an effort to streamline the department and solidify Wang’s position at the helm of Meta’s AI strategy.
Anger bubbles over Meta layoffs
{{/usCountry}}However, the decision to force out over 600 employees has sparked anger on social media. People noted that even jobs in artificial intelligence are no longer safe. The decision to target legacy employees also contributed to the backlash.
On Blind, an anonymous community for verified professionals, news of the layoffs sparked a conversation about job safety.
“Imagine working at Meta for years for a few 100k and being told by people who joined few months ago getting paid millions that you are being laid off,” wrote one user.
“The billionaire forgets that people depend on job for food. They are not just spreadsheet rows,” wrote a Meta employee.
One person suggested that the jobs might be outsourced. “In totally unrelated news, Meta found out there were 600 non-Chinese in the AI division a week ago,” the user wrote.
Similar reactions were also found on Elon Musk-owned social media platform X.