TLDR: Following recent layoffs of approximately 600 employees from its AI divisions, Meta is now encouraging its workforce to utilize an internal AI chatbot, Metamate, to assist in drafting performance evaluations. This move is part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s “year of efficiency” initiative, aiming to streamline operations and deepen AI integration, even as the company continues substantial investments in advanced AI research.
Menlo Park, November 11, 2025 – In a significant strategic shift, Meta Platforms has initiated the use of its internal artificial intelligence chatbot, “Metamate,” to help employees draft their performance evaluations, including self-assessments and peer reviews. This development comes on the heels of a substantial restructuring within the company’s AI divisions, which saw approximately 600 employees laid off earlier this month. The affected teams included those in AI infrastructure, Fundamental AI Research (FAIR), and various product-focused groups.
The layoffs are a direct consequence of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s “year of efficiency” strategy, aimed at creating a leaner, more agile organization. According to Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, the job cuts were a necessary step to enable the remaining workforce to operate with greater focus and deliver more impactful work. Wang reportedly stated that the restructuring would lead to teams that “deliver more results with fewer people.” Despite these job reductions, Meta has affirmed its commitment to robust investment in artificial intelligence, particularly in its Meta Superintelligence Lab (MSL), with resources being redirected towards advanced AI projects and large-scale model training.
Metamate, Meta’s proprietary AI assistant, functions similarly to widely recognized generative AI tools like ChatGPT. It is designed to analyze internal documents, summarize an employee’s annual achievements, consolidate feedback from multiple projects, and generate comprehensive drafts for performance reviews. The company touts Metamate as a tool to save time and simplify the often-tedious administrative process of annual appraisals. Joseph Spisak, Product Director at Meta’s Superintelligence Labs, publicly endorsed the tool, stating he uses Metamate for his own reviews and describing it as a “personal work historian” capable of summarizing accomplishments and feedback swiftly.
Employee reception to Metamate has been mixed. While some staff members have found the chatbot to make the review process faster and more manageable, others have noted that the AI can sometimes lack the nuanced context of individual contributions, necessitating manual adjustments and rewrites. Consequently, many employees currently utilize Metamate primarily as a drafting tool rather than relying on it for complete evaluations.
Also Read:
- UK Employers Anticipate AI-Driven Workforce Reductions, Junior Roles Most Vulnerable
- Amazon Announces Significant Workforce Reduction Amidst AI Integration and Restructuring
The broader tech sector has seen significant job cuts this year, with Layoffs.fyi reporting over 109,623 jobs eliminated across 223 companies. Meta’s affected employees received 16 weeks of severance pay, along with additional compensation based on their tenure. Notably, newer hires within the Superintelligence Labs, which spearheads Meta’s most advanced AI initiatives, were largely unaffected by this round of layoffs. This dual approach of workforce reduction and AI integration underscores Meta’s aggressive push to embed AI deeper into its operational fabric while simultaneously striving for enhanced efficiency and a competitive edge in the global AI landscape against rivals like OpenAI and Google.
