Meta has eliminated 600 roles in its artificial intelligence division, according to U.S. reports. The company confirmed the layoffs on Wednesday while continuing to recruit staff for its superintelligence lab. Axios revealed that the job cuts target Meta’s Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) team, along with its product-based AI and AI infrastructure groups.
FAIR Faces Major Workforce Changes
Meta’s TBD Lab will remain unaffected by these layoffs. In a memo, Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang urged affected employees to seek new positions within the company. Most displaced workers are expected to secure other internal roles. Wang stated that reducing team size would simplify decision-making and increase each employee’s impact.
Meta Expands AI Research Despite Layoffs
Meta continues to hire for its TBD Lab, which develops the company’s newest large language models (LLMs). These models power tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Meta’s Llama. Unlike its competitors, Meta released Llama as a semi-open-source system that allows public use and modification of key components. The company claims over one billion people use its AI tools monthly, yet many analysts view Meta as trailing OpenAI and Google in consumer adoption of LLM technology.
