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Meta is axing 600 roles across its AI division

(www.theverge.com)
492 points Lionga | 3 comments | 22 Oct 25 16:44 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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ceejayoz ◴[22 Oct 25 17:14 UTC] No.45672187[source]▶
Because the AI works so well, or because it doesn't?

> ”By reducing the size of our team, fewer conversations will be required to make a decision, and each person will be more load-bearing and have more scope and impact,” Wang writes in a memo seen by Axios.

That's kinda wild. I'm kinda shocked they put it in writing.

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matwood ◴[22 Oct 25 18:51 UTC] No.45673501[source]▶
> By reducing the size of our team, fewer conversations will be required to make a decision

This was noted a long time ago by Brooks in the Mythical Man-Month. Every person added to a team increases the communication overhead (n(n − 1)/2). Teams should only be as big as they absolutely need to be. I've always been amazed that big tech gets anything done at all.

The other option would be to have certain people just do the work told to them, but that's hard in knowledge based jobs.

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1. kridsdale1 ◴[22 Oct 25 21:56 UTC] No.45675664[source]▶
A solution to that scaling problem is to have most of the n not actually doing anything. Sitting there and getting paid but adding no value or overhead.
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2. kyleee ◴[23 Oct 25 02:14 UTC] No.45677430[source]▶
This comes up from time to time; what’s the best way to crack into this niche of software engineering? My rates for doing nothing little and keeping up appearances are very competitive and I can do it for about 10-20% less than your typical big co coaster.
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3. paleotrope ◴[23 Oct 25 02:34 UTC] No.45677560[source]▶
Work on your social skills. Practice your banter. Strategic interjections in meetings that temporarily defuse tension. Have interesting hobbies that you can talk about with other employees.