Meta Scraps AI Layoff Plan After Employee Backlash
Reuters reveals Meta's secret Project OT aimed to replace thousands with AI agents, leading to massive pushback and an actual 10% cut.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Meta previously ran secret Project OT to replace staff with AI agents
- Targeted cutting up to 60 percent of specific teams before halting
- Employees pushed back against keystroke and mouse tracking software
- Mark Zuckerberg ultimately paused the plan and laid off 10% of staff
Reuters has revealed in an investigative report that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, once operated a confidential initiative under the codename Project OT—short for Organization Transformation. The primary objective was to deploy artificial intelligence agents to handle daily tasks typically performed by thousands of human employees. However, the ambitious plan encountered severe hurdles, including internal pushback and technical limitations, ultimately forcing the cancellation of subsequent restructuring phases.
The initiative originated in January 2026 during an annual executive retreat at the Hawaii estate of Meta CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg. Leadership envisioned transitioning the organization into an AI-native structure, where AI would manage routine operations while small supervisory teams oversaw these virtual workers.
The restructuring blueprint was divided into two phases, scheduled for May and November, accompanied by a hiring freeze and the termination of underperforming personnel. Internal documents specified that certain teams could face headcount reductions of up to 60 percent through these combined measures.
"The 60 percent figure applied to certain situations for certain teams, and was never a plan to cut company headcount by 60 percent."
Statement from Meta
Meta acknowledged to Reuters that Project OT existed, describing it as a year-long effort to manage costs, redesign team structures, and reallocate personnel to higher-priority tasks, including data generation for training AI models. The company emphasized that it never intended nor executed a company-wide 60 percent workforce reduction.
Meta's retreat from Project OT highlights the profound challenges corporations face when attempting to rapidly substitute human labor with AI. While executive ambitions aim toward immediate AI-native efficiency, employee sentiment, workplace ethics, and cultural resistance remain formidable barriers that top management must navigate carefully.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
A major catalyst for the plan's derailment was fierce resistance from U.S. employees, particularly concerning the installation of tracking software on company machines to monitor keystrokes and mouse movements for training AI agents. Staff members raised concerns that they were actively training the very systems designed to replace them. By late May 2026, Mark Zuckerberg convened an executive meeting to suspend the planned November restructuring phase before proceeding with a standard 10 percent layoff affecting approximately 8,000 workers.
Following these events, Zuckerberg stated he did not expect any further company-wide layoffs for the remainder of the year. The company subsequently halted the computer-tracking initiatives and slowed the pace of AI agent development to restore stability and employee morale.
Source: Thairath Lifestyle
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