META
Meta’s AI labs are getting lean, and loud
Meta is cutting about 600 jobs across its Superintelligence Labs as it tries to make its AI division more focused and efficient.
The layoffs will affect the Facebook AI Research (FAIR) unit and teams working on product-related AI and infrastructure.
Meta said the changes will help speed up decisions and give each role more impact.
Its new TBD Lab, which works on Meta’s next generation of AI foundation models, won’t be affected.
The company added that employees who lose their jobs are being encouraged to apply for other roles within Meta.
This comes right after Meta secured a $27 billion financing deal with Blue Owl Capital, its biggest private funding ever, to support a new large-scale data centre project.
Analysts believe the deal will help Meta expand its AI infrastructure while sharing some of the financial risk with outside investors.
In short:
About 600 AI roles are being cut to make Meta’s teams more efficient.
A $27B deal will help fund Meta’s biggest data centre project.
Focus stays on next-gen AI models developed by TBD Lab.
Meta’s “move fast” era continues
Meta reorganised its AI work under Superintelligence Labs in June after internal changes and a weak response to its open-source Llama 4 model.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg led a hiring push to strengthen Meta’s AI capabilities, building on efforts that started in 2013 with the creation of FAIR and the appointment of Yann LeCun as chief AI scientist.
Zuckerberg’s AI obsession is giving “new year, new me”, but for data centres. - MG