Meta has announced that it will cut about 600 locations in the company's super artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory, according to an internal note sent to employees by AI Director Alexandr Wang on October 22 (local time).
This move comes as Meta and rivals such as OpenAI, Anthropic and Google are competing fiercely in the race to develop advanced AI models.
However, this is not a sign of Meta withdrawing from the game, but is part of the restructuring process to streamline the organization and optimize research resources.
According to Alexandr Wang, cutting down on personnel will help reduce the number of decision-making layers, increase autonomy and expand the scope of individual influence in the AI group.
Mr. Wang emphasized that the goal of creating an more efficient, agile and less internal barrier apparatus is a spirit in line with the "year of Efficiency" orientation that CEO Mark Zuckerberg set out last year.
Meta said most of the affected employees will be supported to find another position within the company, rather than terminating their contracts immediately.
This shows that the company is adjusting its personnel structure instead of implementing a large-scale layoff as before.
Meta has previously experienced thousands of job cuts in 2023, when Zuckerberg declared that more compact is better.
However, in parallel with restructuring, the company is still actively recruiting leading AI experts, even spending millions of USD to attract talent from competitors.
However, OpenAI CEO Sam altman insists that none of OpenAI's best have left to join Meta.
Analysts say Meta's new decision reflects efforts to balance AI capabilities and control operating costs, as the global technology market enters a period of fierce competition.
With these adjustments, Meta expects to continue to strengthen its position in the race to build an artificial intelligence (AGI) super system that large technology corporations are aiming for.
