Menlo Park, June 15, 2026, 01:15 (PDT)
- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told staff the company made mistakes as it used AI to make changes to its workforce.
- Before the memo, Meta’s Applied AI group had some reports of frustration inside the team. The unit has about 6,500 engineers and product managers working on AI training.
- Meta keeps spending on AI, with a capital spending target of $125 billion to $145 billion for 2026.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told staff the company made errors in the fast shift to reorganize its AI team, according to a memo seen by Reuters. “Given the complexity of these changes, we’ve made mistakes and will almost certainly make more,” Zuckerberg wrote. He also said he aims to give workers “as much stability as possible,” and repeated the company does not plan more broad layoffs this year. Reuters
Meta is dealing with internal tension this week, after WIRED reported that an employee disrupted a company livestream with an outburst directed at a senior Meta AI executive. The article outlined unrest inside Meta’s Applied AI group, which formed in March to back Superintelligence Labs and now numbers around 6,500 engineers and product managers. Meta did not give a statement, according to WIRED.
Meta cut 10% of staff in May and reassigned 7,000 workers to AI jobs, Reuters reported, stirring tensions inside the company. Zuckerberg told staff in a memo that Meta would support those moved to AI training roles in finding other jobs and could reverse the changes if necessary. When Reuters requested comment, Meta did not respond about the memo.
Meta’s plan to track U.S. staff keystrokes and clicks for AI projects is facing internal blowback, WIRED reported. Over 1,600 Meta workers signed a petition asking the company to end the tracking. Meta has since pared back the program so employees can pause it for half an hour or seek exceptions, according to WIRED. At an internal Instagram meeting, chief product officer Chris Cox described the internal response as “difficult” and “brutal.” WIRED
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is cutting down manager layers, giving more money to offsites and staff events, and planning a company-wide AI hackathon in July. The hackathon hasn’t gone over well with staff, according to WIRED. Workers told the outlet it’s bad timing after job cuts and heavier workloads. Ime Archibong, a Meta executive, told WIRED the event will focus just on AI and takes place July 14-16. Meta didn’t respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
Meta is keeping up the pace on AI spending. The company now expects to spend $125 billion to $145 billion on capital in 2026, including finance lease principal, up from the previous $115 billion to $135 billion forecast. Meta said higher costs for components and greater investment in data centers are pushing the number higher.
