Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is cutting 600 jobs in its AI division, US media reported. The company confirmed the layoffs on Wednesday, even as it continues hiring for its superintelligence lab. Axios first revealed the cuts, which will impact Meta’s Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) unit, product-related AI teams, and AI infrastructure groups.
Affected Workers Can Reapply Within Meta
The newer TBD Lab unit will remain unaffected. Axios, citing a memo from Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, said Meta is urging affected employees to apply for other internal positions. Most of them are expected to secure new roles within the company. In the memo, Wang said fewer team members will simplify decisions and increase each person’s responsibility, influence, and productivity.
Meta Expands Large Language Model Development
The California-based company continues to recruit for TBD Lab, which develops Meta’s latest large language models (LLMs). These models power technologies such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Meta’s own Llama. Meta follows a distinct strategy by releasing its Llama system as a semi-open source product, allowing users to modify and adapt key components. The company reports that over one billion people use its AI tools monthly. Despite this, analysts see Meta trailing behind OpenAI and Google in promoting everyday consumer use of LLMs.
