As Meta prepares to lay off ~10% of its staff on May 20, sources say morale is low, and it moved 1,000+ engineers to an AI unit to build generative AI models
Next week, Meta is cutting about 10 percent of its staff. WIRED spoke with more than a dozen current and former employees …
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Meta Axes 10% of Staff, Force-Marches 1,000 Engineers Into AI
Meta prepares massive layoffs for May 20 while forcibly reassigning over 1,000 engineers to its generative AI unit.
Meta is swinging the axe again. The company plans to cut roughly 10% of its workforce on May 20, and morale inside the company has cratered.
But the layoffs aren't the only upheaval. Meta forcibly relocated more than 1,000 engineers into an AI division dedicated to building generative AI models. That's not a gentle reassignment — sources describe it as a mandate, not a request.
Wired spoke with over a dozen current and former employees who painted a grim picture of life inside the company right now. The message from leadership is clear: AI is the priority, and everything else is negotiable — including your job.
The dual moves signal Meta is going all-in on GenAI while trimming headcount everywhere else. Engineers who survived the cuts now find themselves conscripted into Zuckerberg's AI army whether they like it or not.