Meta acknowledges AI workforce overhaul mistakes, vows no further layoffs

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted in an internal memo that the company has made, and will likely continue to make, mistakes in its rapid AI workforce transformation. After a May restructuring that cut 10% of the global staff and reassigned about 7,000 employees to AI‑focused roles, Zuckerberg said no further company‑wide layoffs are planned this year and the firm will seek new positions for those shifted to train AI models. He also announced increased investment in team‑building activities, larger event budgets and a major hackathon in July to spur cross‑team collaboration on Meta’s newest models.

Separately, Meta is confronting soaring internal AI costs driven by a practice dubbed “tokenmaxxing,” where employees compete to use more AI tokens to boost performance metrics. The unchecked token consumption has prompted Meta, alongside other tech giants, to pull internal AI leaderboards and reassess budgeting, highlighting the financial strain of intensive AI usage within large firms.