Meta is "drafting" 7,000 staff into AI as 10% get cut

A company-wide reset around AI

@Meta is laying off roughly 10% of its global workforce on Wednesday and simultaneously moving about 7,000 employees into new AI-focused teams, according to an internal memo from Chief People Officer Janelle Gale obtained by Reuters. Headcount at the company stood at 77,986 at the end of March, according to company filings. When the layoffs and reassignments are counted together, the changes will hit about 20% of the company's workforce in total. Meta has also closed an additional 6,000 open roles as part of the process.

New initiatives where employees are being transferred, or "drafted" as many staffers refer to it, include Applied AI Engineering (AAI) and Agent Transformation Accelerator (ATA) XFN, two teams previously announced by CTO Andrew Bosworth as part of Meta's "AI for Work" efforts. Both are aimed at developing AI agents that can autonomously carry out tasks currently performed by human staffers. A further unit, Central Analytics, is expected to focus on measuring productivity and supporting the development of AI agents, while another initiative called Enterprise Solutions was also mentioned in the memo, with details yet to be shared.

Flatter structures and growing internal unrest

The restructuring also targets management layers across the organisation. Gale wrote that many leaders incorporated "AI native design principles" into their new structures, adding that many teams can now "operate with a flatter structure with smaller teams of pods/cohorts that can move faster and with more ownership."

The overhaul has not gone down quietly inside Meta. Employees have been protesting the moves with flyers at company offices and in posts on its internal platform Workplace, with more than 1,000 signing a petition against the installation of mouse-tracking software being used to train Meta's AI models. Others have criticised executives for dismissing privacy concerns and for staying silent about layoff plans for more than a month after Reuters first reported them.

The cuts reflect a broader strategic pivot. Meta spent $72.2 billion on capital expenditures in 2025, with that figure expected to climb to at least $115 billion in 2026, much of it tied to AI infrastructure. The changes are part of a far-reaching overhaul as the company surges its AI investments in a bid to centre AI agents in both its product offerings and its internal approach to work.

Sources:
Reuters (internal memo reporting) | CNN Business: Meta to cut 10% of staff as it pours billions into AI | RTE News: Meta lays out details of May 20 restructuring