Meta has laid off around 600 employees from its artificial intelligence (AI) division as part of a restructuring effort aimed at streamlining operations and accelerating progress toward superintelligence. The changes, led by Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, target legacy teams while retaining top new hires, signaling a major shift in the company’s AI strategy.
Strategic Workforce Restructuring
The layoffs primarily affected staff in Meta’s Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR) group and product teams within Meta Superintelligence Labs. These divisions were described internally as overly bureaucratic, with internal competition for computing resources slowing innovation.
In a memo to employees, Wang said the smaller team structure would speed up decision-making and increase individual impact. “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,” he wrote.
Focus on Elite AI Talent
Meta’s TBD Labs, home to its most recently recruited top-tier AI researchers, was exempt from the cuts. The move aligns with CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s focus on investing in high-cost, high-potential talent rather than maintaining legacy research units.
Meta has spent billions acquiring Scale AI and hiring experts from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Apple, with some packages reportedly worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The restructuring consolidates Meta’s AI leadership under Wang, who joined the company in June 2025 following the Scale AI acquisition.
Financial and Operational Context
Despite the layoffs, Meta reaffirmed its commitment to AI investment. The company recently finalized a $27 billion agreement with Blue Owl Capital to fund its Hyperion data center in Louisiana — a massive facility Zuckerberg said “covers a significant part of the footprint of Manhattan.”
The decision follows a hiring freeze in August 2025, described by Meta as part of “basic organizational planning.” Together, the measures reflect an effort to balance cost control with continued expansion in AI infrastructure.
Employee Impact
Impacted staff were informed their employment would officially end on November 21 and are currently in a non-working notice period with internal access revoked. Severance packages include 16 weeks of base pay plus two additional weeks for each full year of service, minus the notice period.
Meta has encouraged affected employees to apply for other internal roles. Following the cuts, Meta Superintelligence Labs employs just under 3,000 people.
Broader Industry Implications
The restructuring highlights a broader trend in the tech sector, where major firms are recalibrating their AI divisions to balance rapid growth with operational efficiency.
While Meta continues to invest heavily in infrastructure and elite talent, the layoffs reflect a push for agility and execution speed. Analysts say the shift positions Meta to compete more directly with OpenAI and Google in the race to develop advanced AI systems — even as it contends with short-term disruption within its workforce.
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