Meta AI unit workers report frustration over new tasks after layoffs
Employees in a newly formed Meta artificial intelligence group described repetitive data tasks and limited interaction. The unit was created in March and followed an 8,000-person layoff last month. Internal meetings and a petition reflected ongoing dissatisfaction.
New York PostEmployees in Meta's Applied AI unit described their work as repetitive and lacking purpose after the group was formed in March. The roughly 6,500 engineers and product managers were assigned tasks such as creating puzzles to test AI model reliability.
Workers said the assignments felt mechanical compared with previous software development roles. A live-streamed meeting earlier this month was interrupted by an employee who used profanity to criticize management. Presenters muted participants after the outburst, according to Wired.
Work conditions and response More than 1,600 employees signed a petition opposing a company plan to monitor keyboard and mouse activity for AI training data. The monitoring effort applied to U.S. employees. Meta chief product officer Chris Cox addressed morale during a separate meeting, comparing conditions to running a marathon in a hailstorm.
He said leaders needed to stay realistic about AI capabilities. Mark Zuckerberg wrote in an internal memo that recent organizational changes had created mistakes and that additional mass layoffs would not occur this year. The memo also addressed manager-to-employee ratios on some teams.
Meta declined to comment on the Wired report.
