Meta is once again reorganizing its artificial intelligence operations, this time dividing its ambitious Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) into four independent teams. While the move is being presented as a way to bring structure and focus to its AI race, reports suggest that the reshuffle could also pave the way for job cuts—a sharp contrast to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s recent spree of aggressive AI hiring.

The internal announcement was made earlier this week by Alexandr Wang, Meta’s newly appointed chief AI officer and the former CEO of Scale AI. In a company-wide memo, Wang emphasized that sharper focus was needed to realize Meta’s long-term vision. “Superintelligence is coming, and in order to take it seriously, we need to organise around the key areas that will be critical to reach it — research, product and infra,” Wang wrote.

Four Teams, Four Missions

Under the new structure, Meta Superintelligence Labs will now function through four specialized groups:

Large Language Models (LLMs): This unit will oversee systems like Llama, which powers Meta’s AI assistant and other generative tools.

FAIR (Fundamental AI Research): A long-standing research lab within Meta, FAIR will continue its focus on advancing theoretical and long-term AI research.

AI for Products: Led by former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman, this team will work on embedding AI models into Meta’s suite of consumer products.

Infrastructure and Compute: Headed by Aparna Ramani, this group will manage the backbone of Meta’s AI efforts, including data centers and high-performance computing hardware.

The reorganization is the latest in a string of shake-ups at Meta, reflecting both the urgency and the turbulence of its AI ambitions.

From Hiring Spree to Possible Cuts

Over the past year, Zuckerberg has openly committed to spending “hundreds of billions” of dollars on AI talent and infrastructure. Meta has aggressively recruited researchers from rivals like OpenAI and Google, offering unprecedented pay packages worth hundreds of millions. However, that rapid hiring pace may now face a correction.

According to The New York Times, Meta is considering downsizing or reassigning roles within its AI unit, which has ballooned to several thousand employees. Some executives are also expected to leave, adding to the ongoing churn. Although no final decision has been made, the prospect of layoffs has left many employees unsettled.

A Shifting Strategy

Meta’s AI division has already undergone several structural changes this year. The AGI Foundations Group, once focused on generative AI research, was dissolved, with its leaders reassigned. Connor Hayes, formerly head of AI products, was moved to oversee Threads, Meta’s competitor to X (formerly Twitter). Meanwhile, Loredana Crisan, who transitioned from Messenger to the generative AI team, has left the company entirely to join Figma.

At the same time, Meta is reportedly exploring whether to continue building all AI systems in-house or rely on third-party models, including open-source and licensed platforms.

The Road Ahead

While the official stance is that splitting the AI unit into four will create clarity and focus, the future remains uncertain. With talent shifts, leadership exits, and the looming threat of job cuts, Meta’s path toward “superintelligence” may prove as challenging as it is ambitious.