Meta reverses decision to reassign employees to AI training roles

Meta reversed its decision to reassign approximately 7,000 employees to AI training roles within units like the Applied AI (AAI) taskforce, one month after initially announcing the plan. An internal memo obtained by Business Insider indicated that employees now have the "individual choice" to join the taskforce. The memo, sent to employees who had been "drafted" for the AAI taskforce, emphasized Meta's commitment to "personal agency" and supporting employee decisions, while expressing a preference for them to remain and contribute to "state of the art" advancements. The company stated it would collaborate closely across teams to minimize disruption for any transitions, reaffirming that the AAI taskforce remains a critical company priority alongside other core work. Meta declined to comment on the reversal to Fast Company. This decision may be linked to broader efforts to improve employee morale, which CTO Andrew Bosworth described as "probably one of the worst it's ever been" earlier this month. The company also recently paused tracking employee keystrokes for AI model training following an internal leak and conducted a 10% workforce reduction in May. Other tech companies have also adjusted their AI policies; Duolingo's CEO Luis von Ahn backtracked on an "AI-first" policy that required evaluating employees based on AI usage, and Amazon reportedly shut down an AI leaderboard that tracked employee token usage.