Meta is undertaking a major reorganization of its artificial intelligence division, cutting several hundred positions even as it ramps up hiring for its newer TBD Lab, Axios has reported. The move reflects the company’s effort to streamline its AI operations and create a more agile structure.
Reorganization Aims to Boost Efficiency
According to an internal memo seen by Axios, the company concluded that its long-standing AI efforts had become overly bureaucratic. Meta Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang emphasized the benefits of a leaner team, “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.”
The reduction will affect roughly 600 roles across Meta’s FAIR AI research unit, as well as AI product and infrastructure teams. U.S.-based employees were set to be informed by 7 a.m. Pacific time if their positions were impacted. The company encouraged those affected to apply for other roles internally, with Wang noting, “This is a talented group of individuals, and we need their skills in other parts of the company.”
Focus Shifts to TBD Lab and Strategic Hiring
While some teams face cuts, Meta continues to actively hire for its newly formed TBD Lab. Recent recruits include OpenAI research scientist Ananya Kumar and Andrew Tulloch, co-founder of Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines. The lab is part of Meta’s broader $15 billion investment in Scale AI and reflects CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s push for more impactful AI breakthroughs.
Wang highlighted the company’s vision for the future of AI at Meta, “I’m really excited about the models we’re training, our compute plans and the products we’re building, and I’m confident in our path to build towards superintelligence.”
