Meta confirms will lay off 600 employees in its AI unit

About 600 employees in Meta Platforms Inc's artificial intelligence division are set to be laid off as part of a wider effort to speed up decision-making and streamline operations.

Meta chief AI officer Alexandr Wang, who joined the company in June following Meta's USD14.3 billion investment in Scale AI, announced the layoffs in a memo, which a Meta spokesperson confirmed.

The recently established TBD Lab will not be affected, but the cuts will hit employees across Meta's AI infrastructure, Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research and product-focused divisions.

Employees in the US were informed on Wednesday morning that their termination was scheduled for November 21.

In addition to 16 weeks of severance pay, Meta will provide two extra weeks for each year of service. Affected employees are urged to apply for other internal positions, the company stated.

According to reports, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg became impatient with Meta's sluggish AI advancements following conflicting responses to its Llama 4 models.

By cutting red tape and facilitating quicker decision-making, the reorganization seeks to make the AI team "more agile," according to Wang.

Meta is still making significant investments in AI in spite of the layoffs, including a recent USD27 billion deal with Blue Owl Capital to finance its Hyperion data centre in Louisiana.