According to an internal memo seen by Axios, Meta is cutting about 600 positions from its artificial intelligence arm as it pivots toward an accelerated super-intelligence strategy.
The restructuring is intended to boost agility, reduce bureaucracy and increase the impact of each team member within its AI units, according to the memo.
The affected roles sit inside longstanding operations such as the Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR) group as well as teams focused on product-related AI and infrastructure. Yet, one newly formed unit, the TBD Lab, which is central to Meta’s super-intelligence ambitions, will remain untouched and, in fact, continue to hire.
At the heart of this strategy is Meta’s Chief AI Officer, Alexandr Wang, who in the memo stated that “by reducing the size of our team fewer conversations will be required to make a decision and each person will be more load-bearing and have more scope and impact”.
Meta says affected employees are encouraged to apply for other internal roles and the company expects many will transition to new positions inside the firm.
This move stands in contrast to the company’s aggressive hiring earlier this year, when Meta placed one of the biggest bets in its history on AI. In June the company invested around $14.3 billion in Scale AI and recruited its CEO Alexandr Wang to lead its super-intelligence efforts.
Meta first launched its Superintelligence Labs division this year, placing its AI efforts under one umbrella and dividing them into four sub-teams such as FAIR, Products and Applied Research, Infrastructure and TBD Lab. The restructure in June-August flagged a shift away from purely academic research toward more product-driven AI work and ultimate goals of general intelligence that can rival human cognition.
Insiders say Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg grew frustrated that the company’s existing AI initiatives were not delivering visible breakthroughs or commercial returns fast enough. That led to the creation of TBD Lab as the unit where Meta aims to pursue its boldest ambitions.
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"..each person will be more load-bearing.." Is this a new way of saying not to bother with family time or a social life? haha.