Meta freezes AI hiring after blockbuster spending spree

Meta Platforms has frozen hiring in its artificial-intelligence division after spending months scooping up 50-plus AI researchers and engineers, according to people familiar with the matter.

- Meghan Bobrowsky

The hiring freeze, which went into effect last week and coincides with a broader restructuring of the group, also prohibits current employees from moving across teams inside the division. The duration of the freeze wasn't communicated internally.

There might be exceptions to the block on external hires, but they would need permission from Meta's chief AI officer, Alexandr Wang, the people said. A Meta spokesperson confirmed the freeze, characterizing it as "basic organizational planning: creating a solid structure for our new superintelligence efforts after bringing people on board and undertaking yearly budgeting and planning exercises."

While all of the top AI companies have hired aggressively this year, Meta has most often pushed the pace of the talent war, offering prized researchers pay packages worth nine figures and using so-called reverse acquihires to strip startups of key leaders. Analysts have voiced concerns about the scale of leading tech firms' investments, with some singling out Meta's fast-rising stock-based compensation costs as a potential threat to shareholder returns.