--- title: "Mark Zuckerberg Had a Secret Plan to Replace Meta Staff With AI Agents, and It Backfired Spectacularly" description: "Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had a secret plan to replace employees with AI, but it crumbled under implementation." date: "2026-08-28" modified: "2026-08-28" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/mark-zuckerberg-secret-plan-replace-meta-staff-ai" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Finance" - "Future Society" - "Meta" --- # Mark Zuckerberg Had a Secret Plan to Replace Meta Staff With AI Agents, and It Backfired Spectacularly ![CEO of Meta Platforms Mark Zuckerberg attends the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference at the Sun Valley Lodge.]() *Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images* In May, Meta laid off roughly ten percent of its global workforce, affecting almost 8,000 people. The vast culling came amidst repeated promises of an AI-led technological revolution that would make human labor a thing of the past. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, in particular, was clearly infatuated by the idea. As [*Reuters* reports](), Meta execs developed a radical plan under his leadership, codenamed Project Organization Transformation, or Project OT for short, to have AI agents assume the roles of thousands of human staffers. According to the news agency's extensive reporting, execs originally wanted to cut teams by as much as 60 percent, a staggering number that quickly turned out to be completely unrealistic. A second "wave" of layoffs following May's brutal layoffs was ultimately called off as Zuckerberg's plans to rid his company of pesky and expensive human resources crumbled in an embarrassing setback. The layoffs in May ballooned into a PR disaster of epic proportions. One lawsuit filed by 26 employees accused the company of [using an internal AI platform to select targets](), disproportionately targeting people with disabilities. Meanwhile, the poorly executed firings threw [workplace morale in a tailspin](), with furious staffers [lashing out in expletive-laden rants]() on internal message boards as Zuckerberg [promised better snacks and hackathons](). Meta also [received serious flack]() for [trying to install]() surveillance software on staffers' computers to [train AI on everything they typed and clicked on](). Zuckerberg has also had little to show for his AI efforts, even as he conceded that the cuts were [meant to clear up funds for ballooning capital expenditures](). Unperturbed, Meta raised its spending forecast for 2026 as high as $145 billion, even as [cash flow cratered](). The CEO [admitted in July]() that AI agent tech was progressing far slower than he expected. Per *Reuters*, staffers were also busy "firefighting" a major spike in AI-generated code causing technical and security incidents. In short, it's no wonder Meta's "AI-native playbook" went up in flames. While Meta acknowledged the plan to cut some teams by up to 60 percent, the company told *Reuters* in a statement that "ultimately, we didn’t move forward with every scenario from the exercise — and it was never assumed we would." While Zuckerberg has promised that there won't be any more company-wide layoffs this year, staffers are still expecting future job cuts based on performance. **More on Meta:** [*Teen Boys Are Using Meta Glasses to Harass and Bully Girls at High Schools and Middle Schools*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()