Meta to turn employees into ‘AI builders’, reorganize teams into smaller pods amid Reality Labs layoffs: Report

Meta is rebranding some of its employees as ‘AI builders’ while organising them into native ‘pods’, according to a latest report by Business Insider, citing a leaked company memo.

As per the memo, the reorganisation is currently being piloted within a 1,000-employee team in Meta's Reality Labs division, specifically the group responsible for building developer tools. The move is being seen as part of a broader, more aggressive push by Meta for adopting small teams and use AI.

Reality Labs pilot programme

Reportedly, Meta announced a pilot programme within the Reality Labs team building developer tools. Everyone in the division will now have one of three titles: AI Builder, AI Pod Lead, or AI Org Lead. Some employees have also begun updating their LinkedIn profiles in order to reflect the ‘AI builder’ moniker.

"Our ultimate goal is to drive a step change in engineering productivity and product quality," according to the memo reported by Business Insider. “To achieve this, we're fundamentally rewiring how we operate, how we are structured, and how we support each other.”

According to the memo, the new AI-native pods will consist of small groups of AI builders that are focused on specific outcomes rather than traditional roles. The structure encourages cross-disciplinary work, meaning an engineer might take on design tasks depending on the project's needs.

The pods are now led by Pod Leads who oversee day-to-day operations. The Pod Leads are overseen by Org Leads, who are responsible for managing performance reviews and overseeing promotions, which will be supported by unspecified "AI systems".

The memo reportedly states that the size of the team under the new structure will remain the same.

However, the company laid off hundreds of employees on Wednesday as part of its restructuring efforts, which impacted several teams, including the Reality Labs division.

Some members of the Reality Labs division were also asked to work remotely on Wednesday in preparation for the cuts, as per a Bloomberg report.

"Teams across Meta regularly restructure or implement changes to ensure they're in the best position to achieve their goals," a Meta spokesperson was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. "Where possible, we are finding other opportunities for employees whose positions may be impacted."

The Reality Labs division was also at the receiving end of over 1,000 layoffs in January. Notably, the Reality Labs division is responsible for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) glasses.