Meta Asks Applied AI Staff to Return as Managers in Partial Reversal

Meta has not commented on the matter, leaving unclear how employees who decline the request might be affected. The Applied AI business is new this year and has about 7,000 employees shifted under its umbrella.

Some workers who had previously been managers were reassigned as individual contributors when they joined the Applied AI organization, Business Insider previously reported. Many of those workers felt they had effectively been drafted into the business, the report said, pointing to internal friction.

The manager-light approach traces back to CEO Mark Zuckerberg's 2023 Year of Efficiency announcement, in which he argued a flatter organization could be more nimble and better prepared for change. The push for new managers appears limited to Applied AI, while the efficiency-driven program remains in force elsewhere in the business, according to the report.

Meta is on track to spend more than $130 billion this year on AI chips and infrastructure. The growth of the Applied AI organization could help explain the need for more traditional management, TechRadar reported.

Separately, CTO Andrew Bosworth previously admitted that Meta's rollout of its new AI division was atrocious, according to Wired. He promised better communication for future changes. Bosworth said the company shook up the management structure that was providing stability while rapid strategy changes, including the boom-and-bust hiring cycle, left entire teams in the lurch.

Editor's Summary Meta is asking some Applied AI employees to volunteer as managers, a partial reversal of its manager-light strategy. The company has not said how refusals will be handled. The shift comes as Applied AI absorbs about 7,000 workers and Meta plans more than $130 billion in AI-related spending this year.