Meta Explored 60% Team Cuts Under AI Plan, Then Scrapped 2nd Layoff Round
Updated
Updated · Ars Technica · Aug 26
Meta Explored 60% Team Cuts Under AI Plan, Then Scrapped 2nd Layoff Round
3 articles · Updated · Ars Technica · Aug 26
Summary
Project OT, launched in January, modeled cutting some Meta teams by as much as 60% and replacing much of their daily work with AI overseen by small human groups.
Meta said the exercise was part of a broader restructuring to become more "AI native," weighing redeployments, role closures and cuts rather than committing to every scenario considered.
May brought the first layoff round tied to the plan, but Meta later canceled a second round and instead moved thousands of employees onto newly created priority teams.
Reuters said it reviewed scores of internal documents and interviewed more than 20 people, underscoring how large companies are still testing where AI can substitute for human labor.