Zuckerberg had SECRET AI plan for Meta: 60% cuts, ‘virtual workers’. But then something went wrong
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Zuckerberg had SECRET AI plan for Meta: 60% cuts, ‘virtual workers’. But then something went wrong")
Image for representation Photograph: (AFP, Freepik, Canva)
Meta’s secret "Project OT" aimed to replace employees with AI, projecting up to 60 per cent team cuts. The plan was scaled back following internal backlash, investor concerns, and underperforming AI technology.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his top executives reportedly drew up an ambitious plan earlier this year to transform the social media giant into an “AI native” company. They wanted artificial intelligence to take over much of the work currently done by thousands of employees.
Codenamed “Project OT”, short for Organisation Transformation, the plan was discussed at Meta’s annual leadership retreat in Hawaii in January. According to internal documents reviewed by Reuters and people familiar with the project, the strategy envisioned AI-powered virtual workers being managed by smaller teams of human employees.
Executives also considered scenarios that could cut some teams by as much as 60 per cent, according to two people familiar with the discussions. Some employees could have been moved into newly created roles, while others faced layoffs. An internal document suggested the cuts could have been as large as or larger than Meta’s workforce reduction of about 25 per cent three years ago.
What exactly was the plan?
The restructuring was planned in two waves, with the first round scheduled for May and a second in November. The strategy included layoffs, closing vacant positions and removing employees considered poor performers, according to internal planning documents reviewed by Reuters.
Trending Stories
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
But the plan began to unravel before the second phase could take place.
On the night of May 19, just hours before the first round of layoffs, Zuckerberg called off plans for the November cuts, according to the report. Meta went ahead with layoffs affecting 10 per cent of its workforce the next day.
Why this plan?
The decision came as employees increasingly questioned whether Meta’s push into AI was ultimately aimed at replacing them. At the same time, internal data was reportedly showing that AI agent technology, a key part of the company’s strategy, was not producing the expected productivity gains.
The developments also came as some investors questioned the results of Meta’s huge spending on artificial intelligence.
Reuters, citing scores of internal documents, posts and recordings, as well as interviews with more than 20 people familiar with Meta’s operations, reported that the company had been considering a far-reaching overhaul of its workforce. The reporting also highlighted how quickly the plans changed as the company faced resistance from employees and uncertainty over the performance of its AI systems.
What did Meta say?
Meta confirmed the existence of Project OT in response to the Reuters report. The company described it as a year-long effort focused on cutting costs, redesigning teams and moving employees towards priority areas, including the production of training data for its AI models.
Meta also acknowledged that the restructuring was planned in two waves and that some scenarios involved reducing individual teams by up to 60 per cent. But it stressed that this did not mean it planned to cut 60 per cent of its overall workforce.
The company said the scenarios involved both layoffs and redeployments and that several major teams were not included in the exercise. Meta also said thousands of employees were ultimately moved into newly established teams focused on priority work.
“Ultimately, we didn’t move forward with every scenario from the exercise,” Meta said in a statement, adding that it was never assumed all the scenarios would be implemented.
