Tech giant says layoffs will mean 'fewer conversations will be required to make a decision'
Meta Platforms is undertaking a significant reorganization of its artificial intelligence operations, eliminating approximately 600 positions as part of a broader effort to streamline its AI initiatives and accelerate innovation. The move, confirmed Wednesday, will impact teams across Meta’s Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) unit, product-related AI, and AI infrastructure, but will spare the company’s newly established TBD Lab, which continues to hire aggressively for next-generation AI research.
The layoffs come as Meta, the parent of Facebook and Instagram, seeks to make its AI division more nimble, following what executives described as excessive bureaucracy and a lack of recent breakthroughs. In a memo to staff, Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang explained that reducing team size would enable faster decision-making and increase the scope and impact of each role. “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,” Wang wrote, in a note seen by CNBC.
While the company is encouraging affected employees to apply for other positions within Meta, the restructuring underscores the volatility of the AI sector, especially as major technology firms race to secure top talent and outpace rivals like OpenAI and Google. Meta has invested billions in AI infrastructure and talent, including a recent $27 billion financing agreement with Blue Owl Capital to fund a massive new data centre project .
The changes follow CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s dissatisfaction with the company’s AI progress, particularly after the underwhelming reception of Meta’s Llama 4 model earlier this year. In response, Meta consolidated its AI efforts under the new Superintelligence Labs and launched a hiring spree, bringing in high-profile researchers from across the industry .
Industry analysts say the restructuring at Meta is part of a broader trend in the tech sector, where companies are moving quickly to eliminate duplicate roles and flatten organizational structures. “Big Tech is all about cutting to the very minimum viable staff for a variety of reasons,” said JP Gowinder, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, in an interview with CNBC. The rapid pace of AI development is prompting firms to rethink traditional hierarchies, often resulting in layoffs concentrated at the middle management level .
For HR professionals in Canada, the developments at Meta highlight the dual pressures of workforce reduction and ongoing recruitment in high-demand fields. While the World Economic Forum estimates that AI could displace up to 85 million jobs globally over the next three years, it also projects the creation of as many as 170 million new roles. The challenge for HR leaders will be managing this transition, supporting reskilling efforts, and navigating a labour market that is both contracting and expanding in different areas .
Despite the turbulence, experts caution against viewing AI as the sole driver of job losses. Some analysts suggest that companies are using AI as a convenient explanation for broader restructuring efforts, particularly after years of pandemic-era hiring. “There might be various other reasons why companies are having to get rid of part of their workforce … but now they can come to the scapegoating, and that is saying ‘it’s because of AI though,’” said Fabian Stephany, assistant professor at the Oxford Internet Institute .
