Meta announced layoffs affecting about 10% of its workforce, roughly 7,800 employees, with nearly a month-long warning and no immediate identification of who would be laid off. The layoffs began on the reported date and were described as severe. Leaked audio from a Meta all-hands meeting includes remarks attributed to Mark Zuckerberg about using employee activity and data to train in-house AI models. The remarks frame AI learning as observing “really smart people” performing tasks to build capabilities. The remarks also contrast training on employees versus “contract companies,” which are described as a cost-cutting approach used by tech firms. The overall framing connects workforce reductions with AI development priorities.
"So we're in a phase where basically the AI models learn from heaving real, from watching really smart people do things,"
"And if you're trying to get it to be able to be able to do certain capabilities, having [AI] be able to observe really smart people doing those things is, is very important."
"Going on, Zuckerberg explained that it was better to train AI on soon-to-be-former Meta employees, rather than "contract companies," another cruel practice used by tech giants to cut down costs associated with developing AI (including, of course, Meta itself.)"
"Back in April, Meta announced it was laying off 10 percent of its workforce, or around some 7,800 workers. Unlike traditional layoffs, which are enacted relatively quickly, Meta gave its employees a nearly month-long warning period without announcing who exactly would be headed for the unemployment line."
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