A Reuters investigation reveals Meta drew up a plan, code-named Project OT, to cut some teams by as much as 60% and shift toward an "AI-native" workforce. Mark Zuckerberg pulled back the most aggressive version hours before it launched, but roughly 8,000 jobs were still cut in May, and internal data on AI's payoff remains mixed.
Mark Zuckerberg canceled the most aggressive phase of an internal restructuring plan just hours before it was set to begin, according to a Reuters investigation published Aug. 26 based on internal documents, recordings, and more than 20 interviews. The plan, code-named Project OT for Organization Transformation, aimed to push Meta toward an "AI-native" structure in which smaller, "talent-dense" teams would oversee AI agents doing work currently done by thousands of staff.
A two-wave plan, one wave canceled
Some teams were being evaluated for cuts of as much as 60%, with the restructuring designed in two waves: the first beginning in May, the second in November targeting a broader set of roles. Meta employed roughly 79,000 people at the time, and a 20% reduction under discussion would have eliminated around 16,000 jobs. On the night of May 19, hours before the first wave was scheduled, Zuckerberg pulled back. Meta still went ahead with roughly 8,000 job cuts, about 10% of its workforce, the next day, while the November wave was canceled and around 7,000 other employees were reassigned into AI-related roles.
Productivity data raised doubts
The reversal came as internal data questioned whether the technology was delivering. Code changes to Meta's platforms and infrastructure rose 220% year over year, but changes producing new or upgraded features users could actually see rose just 36%. Meta had also installed tracking software on U.S. employees' devices, capturing keystrokes and mouse clicks to train AI agents to reproduce human workflows, a move that fed into open staff revolt. Meta's Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth clashed with employees over how the transition was handled, even as the company tried to identify an “Irreplaceable Talent” designation to shield key staff from cuts.
Zuckerberg's own AI agent
While pulling back the harshest workforce cuts, Zuckerberg has been using a personal AI agent, described internally as a “CEO agent,” that lets him retrieve answers without going through multiple layers of staff. He told analysts on a January earnings call that projects once requiring big teams are now handled by a single talented person. Meta's AI-native groups now run reporting structures with as many as 50 individual contributors per manager, and employee use of AI tools now factors into performance reviews.
Meta has projected $125 billion to $145 billion in capital expenditures for 2026, most earmarked for AI infrastructure and chips, even as an ongoing Oakland trial over alleged addictive design targeting children weighs on the stock. Meta confirmed Project OT's existence after Reuters presented its findings, describing it as a yearlong effort focused on cost-cutting, redesigning team structures, and shifting staff toward priority areas including producing training data for its AI models.
Sources: Reuters, TheStreet, Crypto Briefing
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