Overview
- Meta formed an Applied AI unit in March that now includes about 6,500 engineers and product managers who were reassigned into AI work as the company shifted resources toward large AI investments.
- Many reassigned staff report the new assignments are repetitive data‑training tasks such as creating puzzles and coding problems to evaluate models, which workers describe as demoralizing and a poor use of their skills.
- Tensions have spilled into public internal actions: a livestreamed employee presentation was interrupted by an expletive‑filled outburst and more than 1,600 employees signed a petition opposing a program to collect keystrokes and mouse activity for AI training.
- Top executives acknowledged mistakes in internal memos — CTO Andrew Bosworth called the rollout “atrocious” — and promised fixes including capping managers at roughly 20 direct reports, letting reassigned staff reapply for other roles, and pledging no further mass layoffs this year.
- Workers remain skeptical of culture fixes such as a July company‑wide hackathon, and investors and observers will watch whether Meta can turn large numbers of reassigned engineers into durable AI products while retaining talent and restoring trust.