Meta’s Superintelligence Labs puts 600 staff on non-working notice as part of AI restructuring

Meta has placed around 600 employees from its Superintelligence Labs division on a non-working notice period until 21 November, as part of a major restructuring drive aimed at streamlining its artificial intelligence operations. Chief AI officer Alexandr Wang revealed in an internal memo, seen by Business Insider and CNBC, that the decision was made to reduce organisational complexity and increase individual impact within the team.

Wang explained that by reducing the size of the team, decision-making would become more efficient, with fewer layers of approval required, and each remaining member would take on greater responsibility and scope. Employees affected by the cuts have had their internal access revoked and will not be required to work during the transition period.

According to the company’s notice, impacted employees will receive 16 weeks of severance pay, plus two additional weeks for every year of service, adjusted for the duration of the notice period. Meta has also assembled a specialised internal recruiting team to help affected workers secure alternative roles within the company through an expedited rehiring process.

The layoffs primarily affect legacy AI infrastructure teams, the Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR) unit, and certain product-focused roles, while sparing the TBD Labs division — home to Meta’s elite AI recruits hired in recent months. Within Meta, the AI division was reportedly seen as overextended, with multiple teams competing for computing resources and overlapping on research areas. Wang clarified that the restructuring should not be interpreted as a reduction in AI investment, stressing that

Meta will continue to expand its hiring of “industry-leading AI-native talent”. He emphasised that the changes are designed to create a leaner, more agile structure capable of driving innovation at scale.

The decision comes amid Meta’s broader push to dominate the AI race, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg investing billions in recruiting top talent from rivals including OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft — with some high-profile hires reportedly receiving compensation packages worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Following the layoffs, Meta’s Superintelligence Labs workforce now stands at just under 3,000 employees, marking one of the most significant reorganisations within the company’s AI operations to date.