Meta has paused hiring for its artificial intelligence (AI) division. This decision comes after the company hired more than 50 AI researchers and engineers and offered $100 million compensation packages to attract top talent in the field.
According to the Wall Street Journal, this hiring freeze took effect last week and also prevents internal employee transfers to this division, although the company has not specified how long this pause will remain in place.
A Meta spokesperson described this move as “basic organizational planning,” stating: “All that’s happening here is creating a solid structure for our new superintelligence efforts after bringing people on board and undertaking yearly budgeting and planning exercises
.” The recent reorganization at the Zuckerberg-led company divides AI operations into four teams – TBD Lab focusing on superintelligence, another building AI-powered products, a third developing the necessary infrastructure, and a fourth concentrating on fundamental AI research.
Before the restructuring, Meta’s AGI Foundations was responsible for developing the latest versions of its large language model, Llama, but after falling short of internal expectations, this team was ultimately dissolved.
Meta not only offered nine-figure packages to individuals but also used reverse acquisition techniques. Of the 50 new hires, at least 13 came from Google, three from Apple, three from xAI, and two from Anthropic.
