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Meta has announced it plans to cut roughly 600 roles from its AI team, according to a new report from Axios. The layoffs will be spread across the legacy Fundamental AI Research unit and the AI product and infrastructure division, according to the report. Newsweek reached out to Meta for comment, but one expert called the move a “strategic [reshuffle] meant to please shareholders.” Why It Matters Artificial intelligence has pervaded nearly every aspect of society, from the workforce to education and even dating. While many companies initially invested diligently in their AI teams and development, the technology has sometimes led to those exact roles being deemed unnecessary. What To Know The job layoffs at Meta arrive after the Facebook parent company initially had an AI hiring spree this summer, investing $14.3 million in Scale AI. The company also hired CEO Alexandr Wang for Scale AI before pausing hiring and entering a restructuring phase. Wang previously said Meta “will aim to integrate and scale many of the research ideas and projects from FAIR into the larger model runs conducted by TBD Lab.” But now there will be fewer roles within the AI division to increase efficiency, a memo indicates. “By reducing the size of our team, fewer conversations will be required to make a decision, and each person will be more load-bearing and have more scope and impact,” Wang wrote in a memo as reported by Axios. Affected employees will be able to apply for other jobs within the company. “This shows the industry's growing obsession with efficiency over people. Companies in all industries are racing to automate, consolidate, and cut costs before real regulation catches up. What we're seeing isn't innovation. It's contraction,” HR consultant Bryan Driscoll told Newsweek. “Even in cutting-edge fields like AI, no one's job is safe when profits tighten or investor sentiment shifts. These aren't performance-based cuts, either. They're strategic reshuffles meant to please shareholders.” As technology evolves and companies grow, legacy systems are usually the first to go, said Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast. “Money flows to the areas that can scale and integrate new form factors, not to the ones that have already peaked. In every innovation cycle, the least productive sectors get trimmed so the company can double down to where they think the future's headed.” What People Are Saying Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek: “While Meta laying off employees in their AI division may shock some given the heavy emphasis in this area for tech companies at the moment, it's important to clarify these cuts target their legacy research team, not some of their most recent hires. Improvement in AI remains a major - if not the - top priority for many companies, and we continue to see robust recruiting of experts. However, for teams hired for past efforts to research its development, this scenario could quickly turn negative, as research is taking a backseat to quick development and implementation.” Driscoll told Newsweek: “The tech industry built its image on progress, but lately it's been recycling the same playbook: hype a new frontier, overhire, then slash jobs as the buzz fades. AI's not replacing workers yet en masse. But it's being used an excuse to do so.” Rebecca Homkes, lecturer at the London Business School, told Newsweek: "The major tech players have been in an AI arms race of sorts for the past few years, and despite the more recent AI bubble talk, I do not expect this to lessen considerably any time soon. Most tech executives feel there is less risk in overspending than in being caught too far behind to compete, and announcements are usually more about structural shifts as strategy evolves than about pulling back from the bigger bets they are making.” Thompson told Newsweek: “The layoffs are unlikely to be material since many of those employees can reapply for other roles within the company. But it does highlight something deeper—the pure nature of capitalism. Money flows to where it’s most productive, until that sector overheats, inflates, and eventually bursts. Then it moves on to the next opportunity. That’s not just an AI story; it's the cycle of innovation and capital.” What Happens Next The announcement from Meta today is less of a pullback from AI, according to Homkes, and more of a consequence of the company’s initial learnings with the technology. “In earlier times, it was common to have multiple units, teams, and functions working on similar aspects and then begin to centralize or reduce structure when it felt too slow or difficult to make the needed fast, effective decisions,” Homkes said.
