Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is eliminating 600 positions in its AI division, US media reported. The company confirmed the move on Wednesday, stating it will continue hiring for its superintelligence lab while executing these layoffs.
Axios revealed that the cuts will hit Meta’s Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) group, along with its product-related AI and infrastructure teams. However, Meta’s newer TBD Lab will remain untouched.
Impact on Teams and Employee Transition
Chief AI officer Alexandr Wang informed staff about the changes in a memo. He urged affected workers to apply for other internal positions, expecting most to secure new roles within Meta. Wang explained that a smaller team would enable quicker decision-making and give each member greater responsibility and influence.
Meta’s Distinct AI Strategy
Meta continues to recruit for TBD Lab, which focuses on creating advanced large language models (LLMs). These models power systems such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Meta’s own Llama.
Unlike many rivals, Meta distributes Llama as a semi-open source tool, allowing developers to adapt key components freely. The company reports that over one billion people use its AI products monthly. Still, analysts view Meta as trailing OpenAI and Google in driving mainstream adoption of large language models.
