Meta cuts hundreds of AI jobs while expanding new hires

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Meta has confirmed it’s cutting around 600 jobs across its Artificial Intelligence (AI) teams, even as it ramps up hiring for its superintelligence research lab.

The cuts affect Meta’s Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) division, along with product-focused AI and AI infrastructure teams. However, its TBD Lab, which leads development of advanced AI models, remains unaffected.

According to an internal memo cited by Axios, Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang said affected staff are being encouraged to apply for other roles within Meta, and many are expected to be rehired.

Despite the layoffs, Meta continues to invest heavily in building large language models (LLMs) — the same type of technology powering ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Meta’s own Llama model.

Unlike its competitors, Meta has made Llama open-source, allowing developers worldwide to freely use and modify it.

More than one billion people already use Meta’s AI tools each month, but industry analysts say the company is still playing catch-up to leaders like OpenAI and Google when it comes to consumer adoption.

More updates to come on AusNewsLanka.