Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is laying off 600 employees from its artificial intelligence division as part of efforts to streamline operations following a period of rapid hiring, U.S. media reported on Wednesday.
According to reports from The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, the cuts will not impact TBD Lab, a unit established by CEO Mark Zuckerberg that grew rapidly by recruiting top researchers from competitors such as OpenAI and Apple with lucrative compensation packages.
Instead, the layoffs will affect teams working on AI products and infrastructure, with the goal of improving efficiency while maintaining progress on Meta’s most ambitious AI projects. Many of the affected employees may be reassigned to other departments within the company.
The New York Times described the move as an effort to reduce “organizational bloat” that resulted from the company’s aggressive hiring spree to expand its AI program.
In a memo cited by both outlets, Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang reportedly said the restructuring would allow the company to make faster decisions, noting that “fewer conversations will be required to make a decision.”
