Meta to cut 600 jobs in AI division to streamline operations

Facebook owner Meta is cutting 600 jobs in its artificial intelligence division in a move intended to streamline operations after an aggressive hiring spree, US media reported Wednesday.

The job cuts will not affect the TBD Lab, an operation established by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and other publications. 

The lab's staffing was quickly grown through the poaching of top researchers with expensive pay packages from rivals like OpenAI and Apple.

Rather, the job cuts will target teams focused on artificial intelligence products and infrastructure, aiming to boost efficiency without sacrificing work on the company's most ambitious ventures, according to a Wall Street Journal report that said many of the affected workers could be deployed elsewhere by the company.

The New York Times described the job cuts as aimed at addressing "organisational bloat" following aggressive hiring to build up the AI program.

Both newspapers quoted a memo from Chief AI Office Alexandr Wang that the job cuts mean "fewer conversations will be required to make a decision."

Meta did not respond to an AFP query on the matter.