Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, cut 600 jobs in its AI division, US media reported. The company confirmed on Wednesday that it removed around 600 roles even while hiring new workers for its superintelligence lab.
FAIR and AI Infrastructure Teams Face Layoffs
Axios reported that the cuts hit Meta’s Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) group along with its product-focused AI and infrastructure teams. The company’s newer TBD Lab remains unaffected. Chief AI officer Alexandr Wang told employees in a memo that affected workers should apply for other Meta roles, and most are expected to secure new positions within the firm.
Wang explained in the memo that reducing team size allows faster decisions and gives individuals more responsibility and impact. Axios said Meta continues recruiting for TBD Lab, which develops Meta’s latest large language models (LLMs). These models power systems such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Meta’s Llama.
Meta Pursues Distinct AI Strategy
Meta follows a different AI strategy than many competitors by releasing its Llama system as a semi-open source tool. This approach lets users modify and apply its core components freely. Meta claims that over one billion people use its AI features monthly, yet analysts believe it still trails rivals like OpenAI and Google in driving everyday consumer adoption of LLMs.
