Mark Zuckerberg. Credit: Mijansk786 / Shutterstock.com
Meta, the American tech giant that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is planning to cut around 600 positions in its artificial intelligence (AI) division, according to a company memo cited by US media outlets.
The redundancies will affect Meta’s so-called “Superintelligence Labs”, which encompass the firm’s key AI projects. While the division employs several thousand staff, the exact figure remains unknown. Reports in Axios and The New York Times suggest the move aims to “keep pace with competitors” and streamline internal operations following three years of rapid AI expansion.
According to The New York Times, the job cuts are designed to “reduce the organisational overload resulting from the fast-paced development of Meta’s AI initiatives”. Axios added that the memo highlighted how the restructuring will lead to “fewer conversations needed to make decisions” and give employees “greater responsibility, reach and impact”.
Fierce competition in the AI race
The layoffs come amid fierce competition in the artificial intelligence sector. Since the debut of ChatGPT in 2022, companies including OpenAI, Google and Microsoft have been in a race to develop next-generation chatbots and AI-driven products.
Microsoft has poured over €12.1 billion into OpenAI, while Amazon has invested €7.4 billion in AI startup Anthropic.
Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s founder and CEO, launched the company’s first AI research lab back in 2013, shortly after losing a bid to acquire DeepMind – the British startup that later became Google’s AI hub.
Earlier this year, reports revealed that Zuckerberg was assembling a new “superintelligence” team tasked with building the world’s most advanced AI platform – one that could potentially surpass human cognitive capabilities.
Balancing cuts with fresh recruitment
Despite the redundancies, Meta continues to recruit high-profile AI talent. Among the latest hires is 28-year-old Alexandr Wang, founder and former CEO of Scale AI, a San Francisco-based startup specialising in data labelling for large language models. Meta reportedly invested €13.3 billion in Scale AI earlier this year.
The company has also been expanding its infrastructure, developing new data centres and hardware such as AI-powered smart glasses, while launching an AI assistant app.
However, the rise of automation has fuelled growing concerns among employees across the tech industry, many of whom fear their roles could be replaced by AI.
Meta has continued to adjust its workforce in recent months, both laying off and hiring staff. As of June 30, the company employed 75,945 people — a 7 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
