At technology giant Meta, the blame for the artificial intelligence transformation fell on employees. While the company laid off approximately 8 thousand employees globally, it also shifted approximately 7 thousand employees to new projects focused on artificial intelligence.
This step by Meta corresponds to approximately 10 percent of the company’s total workforce. It was stated that the dismissal decision was announced to the employees in April and the implementation was implemented on May 20.
Offices remained empty
According to the news, Meta’s human resources manager Janelle Gale told employees to work from home before the layoff process. For this reason, Meta offices remained almost empty on the day of the layoffs.
It was reported that the first notifications were sent to employees in Singapore in the morning local time, and then employees in the UK, USA and other countries were informed according to their own time zones.
Employees began checking the company’s internal directory and team rosters to figure out who had been laid off. In Meta’s internal forums, many employees made symbolic posts to show support for their laid-off colleagues.
Artificial intelligence investments were cited as justification
Meta’s layoffs are considered as part of the company’s major investment move in artificial intelligence. The company plans to seriously increase its infrastructure and artificial intelligence investments this year.
In his note to employees, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg thanked the laid-off people for their contributions and said that he was optimistic about the company’s artificial intelligence goals. Zuckerberg also stated that no new mass layoffs are expected across the company this year.
7 thousand employees are transferred to new artificial intelligence projects
Meta didn’t just layoff. The company also directed approximately 7 thousand employees to new artificial intelligence initiatives. It was reported that these teams will work in areas such as the company’s artificial intelligence-supported products, autonomous agents and efficiency analysis.
It was stated that the company also gave up filling approximately 6 thousand positions that were previously open. This shows that Meta is not only reducing its current headcount, but also narrowing down its future hiring plans.
Employees are reacting: “We are developing the systems that will replace us.”
It is stated that the atmosphere in Meta is tense. It is stated that there is serious unrest among employees due to the rapid integration of artificial intelligence tools into business processes and that this transformation directly leads to job losses.
The news points out that technology workers are developing artificial intelligence systems that can, in a sense, take over their own jobs. This situation is not unique to Meta. Recently, major technology companies such as Cisco, Microsoft, Block and Coinbase have also taken workforce reduction or restructuring steps in connection with artificial intelligence investments.
New era in Meta: Smaller teams, more artificial intelligence
Meta management argues that the restructuring is aimed at making the company more agile. The company wants to move forward with a more horizontal organizational structure, smaller teams and artificial intelligence-centered workflows.
However, the picture is darker for employees. While the company announced record revenues on the one hand, and on the other hand, thousands of people were laid off, the internal question “were these cuts really necessary?” brought up the question.
