Meta Scraps Second Wave of AI-Driven Layoffs as Plan Falls Apart, Reuters Reports

The plan, code-named Project OT, was devised in January at CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s annual leadership retreat in Hawaii. It envisioned AI taking over much of the daily work performed by thousands of human employees, with smaller “talent-dense” teams of human staffers overseeing virtual workers. In scenario-planning exercises, executives explored shrinking many teams across Meta by as much as 60%, according to two people familiar with the project and an internal planning document. The restructuring was to be carried out in two waves, beginning with layoffs in May and another round in November.

Meta laid off 10% of its workforce in May, but on the night of May 19, just hours before those cuts were announced, Zuckerberg decided to stop planning for the November round, according to one internal document reviewed by Reuters. By that point, employees were in open revolt, believing the AI transformation was partly meant to replace them. Internal data also suggested that the autonomous AI “agent” technology at the heart of the strategy was failing to deliver the hoped-for productivity gains. Some investors had begun questioning what Meta had to show for its massive spending on AI.

The report, based on internal documents, posts, recordings and conversations with more than 20 people familiar with Meta’s operations, reveals how the social-media giant tried to place itself at the forefront of an AI-driven workplace overhaul but stumbled in execution.