Meta Shelves Ai-driven Plan to Lay Off Thousands

Meta has shelved a restructuring plan that would have laid off thousands of employees as part of an AI-focused overhaul, with the decision linked to artificial intelligence failing to deliver the expected productivity gains. The plan, known internally as Project OT, aimed to have AI take over a significant portion of employees' daily tasks and envisioned cutting thousands of jobs. According to sources familiar with the matter, the company spent the year testing the creation of smaller teams powered by AI and reshaping employee roles.

Under Project OT, engineers, designers, and product managers would have moved into more general roles, middle management would have been reduced, and AI agents would have been managed by small human teams. Some teams considered cutting headcount by up to 60 percent, with options including layoffs, eliminating open positions, and firing underperforming staff. The plan could have resulted in a reduction larger than Meta's 2023 workforce cut of 25 percent. An initial draft included a second wave of layoffs in November, but Mark Zuckerberg canceled or postponed that phase.