Internal memo suggests Meta will lay off 10% of its employees, with a further 10% set to be transferred to better focus on AI
Memo suggests another round of restructuring is set to hit Meta and its staff
Meta is expected to announce further layoffs this week, as part of continued efforts to restructure the company around AI.
An internal memo seen by Reuters suggests Meta will lay off 10% of its employees, with a further 10% set to be transferred to better focus on AI, with staff "drafted" to areas of the business focused on the technology, including Applied AI Engineering (AAI) and Agent Transformation Accelerator (ATA), both of which are tasked with creating AI agents.
Beyond AI, the cuts are reportedly targeting managers in particular. This round of restructuring is expected to be announced on Wednesday, with staff told to work from home; further cuts are reportedly due at the tech giant later this year.
In the document, Meta's Chief People Officer Janelle Gale links the restructuring to improving AI workflows, in particular, the internal transfers of 7,000 staff. Reuters reported Gale saying such changes will become common across the industry as the AI rollout continues.
"As org leaders worked on the changes, many of them incorporated AI native design principles into their new org structures," she said, according to the report. "We're now at the stage where many orgs can operate with a flatter structure with smaller teams of pods/cohorts that can move faster and with more ownership."
ITPRO has contacted Meta for comment.
Internal uproar
This week's restructuring efforts follow similar cuts by Meta last year of 3,600 roles, and in 2024, targeting its Reality Labs as well as WhatsApp and Instagram. Big rounds of cuts were seen in 2023 and 2022, making such restructuring an annual occurrence at Meta.
The latest cuts were first rumoured last month, and reports sparked internal protests at Meta, with staff criticising managers for refusing to acknowledge the plans by sending them photos of elephants to raise the issue of the "elephant in the room" going undiscussed, Reuters added.
Similar AI-driven cuts have been seen more widely across the tech industry – however, not all are convinced that redundancies are due to AI but the tech is being used to cover up for overhiring or struggles amid wider economic pressures.
Beyond protesting the cuts, staff have signed a petition against tracking tools used to monitor employee work, intended to help train Meta's models about how humans work. According to one report, flyers advertising the petition that have been distributed in Meta offices ask: "Don't want to work at the Employee Data Extraction Factory?"
The petition calls for a clear commitment from Meta that employee "computer use data" not be collected for training AI. That includes keystrokes, mouse movements, and screen content. "It should not be the norm that companies of any size are permitted to exploit their employees by nonconsensually extracting their data for the purposes of AI training," the petition adds.
Other changes at Meta
Alongside the restructuring, the memo seen by Reuters includes details of a new division dubbed Enterprise Solutions, with further information to be revealed Wednesday.
That comes as rival AI firms, notably OpenAI and Anthropic, battle for a piece of the enterprise market with business-focused AI tools.
OpenAI last week unveiled an AI consultancy for enterprises, while Anthropic has announced software and services tools targeted at specific industries, as well as setting up a new enterprise AI services company that includes Blackstone and Goldman Sachs.
-
How to protect your business from living off the land attacksIn-depth A greater focus on identity management and incident response is key for businesses as attackers adopt this new methodology
-
TD Synnex launches white-label cloud storefronts for UK&I partnersNews The distributor said the move will help channel partners grow recurring revenue streams and expand their cloud services businesses
-
Chief data officers believe they'll be a 'pivotal' force in in the C-suite within five yearsNews Chief data officers might not be the most important execs in the C-suite right now, but they’ll soon rank among the most influential figures, according to research from Deloitte.
-
UK firms are pouring money into AI, but they won’t see a return on investment unless they address these key issuesNews An SAP report projects increased AI investment, but cautions that too many organizations are taking a fragmented approach
-
Cisco promises AI training for a million AmericansNews The company joins Amazon, Google, and Microsoft in support of the government's Pledge to America's Youth – Investing in AI Education
-
Who is Mustafa Suleyman?From Oxford drop out to ethical AI pioneer, Mustafa Suleyman is one of the biggest players in AI
-
Lenovo promotes Per Overgaard to general manager for ISG EMEANews Overgaard will spearhead Lenovo's Infrastructure Solutions Group as organizations continue to invest in AI and advanced infrastructure
-
We spoke to over 700 IT leaders to hear their tech strategy plans for 2025 – here's what we learnedNews ITPro's Future Focus report shows AI, cybersecurity, and cloud remain top of the priority list for IT leaders in 2025.
-
Former Scale AI leaders raise $4.2 million to simplify agent deploymentsNews Applied Labs wants to take the hassle out of AI agent deployments
-
A big enforcement deadline for the EU AI Act just passed – here's what you need to knowNews The first set of compliance deadlines for the EU AI Act passed on the 2nd of February, and enterprises are urged to ramp up preparations for future deadlines.
