Tech giant Meta begins cutting 600 jobs in its AI division to boost efficiency after years of heavy recruitment and restructuring of its research operations.
Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is laying off around 600 employees in its artificial intelligence division, according to multiple U.S. media reports published on Wednesday October 22, 2025.
The move is part of a broader restructuring effort aimed at improving efficiency within Meta’s expanding AI operations, following years of rapid hiring across its technology units. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times both reported that the decision targets teams developing AI products and infrastructure rather than the company’s flagship research group.
Meta’s advanced AI research facility, known as the TBD Lab — a unit established by Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg — will reportedly remain unaffected. The lab has become a focal point of Meta’s innovation strategy, attracting top scientists and engineers from competitors such as OpenAI and Apple with high-paying contracts and ambitious projects.
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The Wall Street Journal cited company insiders who said many of the affected workers may be reassigned to other departments as part of a companywide restructuring process designed to streamline operations and avoid duplication of roles.
The New York Times reported that the layoffs aim to address “organizational bloat” that accumulated during Meta’s aggressive expansion in AI over recent years. The publication quoted an internal memo from Meta’s Chief AI Officer, Alexandr Wang, saying the reorganization would allow for “fewer conversations to make a decision,” signaling an attempt to simplify management layers.
Meta, which has not yet publicly commented on the reports, has been investing heavily in AI as it seeks to compete with global technology rivals like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon in the race to develop next-generation computing tools. The company is also building a vast infrastructure of data centers and computing systems to support its AI models, while simultaneously working on integrating AI assistants into its social platforms.
The layoffs come amid broader turbulence across the technology industry, where firms have been forced to balance innovation with cost control following years of expansion and economic headwinds.
Meta’s decision follows similar efficiency-focused workforce reductions at other major AI players in 2025, underscoring how even industry leaders are rethinking scale in favor of agility.
