Meta is reassigning top software engineers from across the company into a new AI engineering organisation. This unit, created recently, is part of a broader reorganisation of the workforce.
The social media company is informing staffers selected for transfer into the Applied AI (AAI) Engineering unit. Vice President Maher Saba, head of the new organisation, authored an internal memo regarding the transfers.
Saba, who is also a vice president in the Reality Labs division and a lieutenant of Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, had initially invited volunteers to join the organisation when it was established. However, joining is no longer voluntary.
The company is "now moving to the next phase: scaling the team," Saba stated in his memo. Leaders across Meta have identified "strong SWE (software engineer) talent" for the AAI unit.
Saba wrote that the AAI unit is "one of the company’s highest priorities." He added, "we’re resourcing it by moving our strongest talent to address it. Therefore, the transfers aren’t optional."
The reorganisation comes as Meta plans significant layoffs. These layoffs could eliminate tens of thousands of jobs as the company seeks to offset costly artificial intelligence infrastructure investments and prepare for greater efficiency brought about by AI-assisted workers.
The Applied AI organisation is central to Meta’s vision. It is tasked with building tools and evaluations to accelerate the development of AI agents. These agents will write code and perform complex tasks autonomously.
Saba indicated that the end goal is for these agents to execute the majority of work for building, testing, and shipping products and infrastructure at Meta. Human staffers would then monitor these agents.
The owner of Facebook and Instagram has pushed employees to meet targets for AI usage. Some teams within Reality Labs have been restructured to be "AI native," featuring fewer managers overseeing large teams.
These "AI native" teams will use AI-generated reports to monitor performance. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg spoke to investors about this transformation.
Zuckerberg stated he expected 2026 to be "the year that AI starts to dramatically change the way that we work." He added, "We're investing in AI-native tooling so individuals at Meta can get more done."
He also mentioned, "we’re elevating individual contributors, and flattening teams." If successful, Zuckerberg believes the plan will lead to more accomplishments and a more enjoyable work environment.
Meta is moving top engineers to a new Applied AI (AAI) Engineering unit.
Transfers to the AAI unit are mandatory, as it is a high-priority initiative.
The AAI organisation aims to develop AI agents that can autonomously perform complex tasks and write code.
Source: REUTERS
