Scale AI cuts 14% of workforce after Meta investment, hiring of founder Wang

Meanwhile, Interim CEO Jason Droege said in a memo that company ramped up its generative AI capacity "too quickly" and created too many layers of "excessive bureaucracy. "Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg hired Scale AI's CEO Alexandr Wang to serve as his company's chief AI officerIn this articleMETA your favorite stocksCREATE FREE ACCOUNTFacade with logo at headquarters of Scale AI, San Francisco, California, June 2, 2025

Scale AI's interim CEO Jason Droege, who took over for Wang, told employees in a memo on Wednesday that the startup ramped up its generative AI capacity "too quickly" and created too many layers of "excessive bureaucracy. " He said Scale AI remains a well-resourced and well-funded company (quite telling). "These changes will make us more nimble — enabling us to react more quickly to shifts in the market and customer needs," Droege wrote in the memo, which was viewed by CNBC

At the same time, "This structure will allow us to better serve the customers we have today and win back customers that have slowed down work with us. "Droege said Scale AI will "significantly increase headcount" across its application units in the second half of the year, including within its enterprise, public sector and international public sector divisions

Bloomberg was first to report on the number of job cuts, which Scale AI confirmed to CNBC

OpenAI has been winding down its work with Scale AI over the past year, and Google is also reportedly cutting ties with Scale AI ing the company's deal with Meta, according to a report from Reuters

Spokesperson Joe Osborne said affected employees have been vided severance (something worth watching)

The company is also ending work with 500 contractors out of thousands worldwide, he said

Additionally, "We're lining our data to help us move faster and der even better data solutions to our GenAI customers," Osborne told CNBC in a statement

Nevertheless, "We also plan to make significant investments and hiring across our enterprise and government AI es (this bears monitoring)

Moreover, " Meta has been on a multibillion-dollar AI hiring spree in an effort to better compete with rivals OpenAI

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg selected Wang to serve as the company's chief AI officer, overseeing its new organization called Meta Superintelligence Labs (fascinating analysis)

Moreover, However, A small number of Scale AI employees also joined the company

Nevertheless, Droege wrote in the memo on Wednesday that, for the employees who are being laid off, "I want to extend our deepest gratitude for their valuable contributions and dedication to our company. "WATCH: What Meta’s Scale AI deal reveals the battle for top AI talentwatch now2:4602:46What Meta's Scale AI deal reveals the battle for top AI talentCheckElon Musk’s xAI permits challenged by NAACP, environmental groups in MemphisLora Kolodny2 hours agoFormer OpenAI CTO Mira Murati raises $2 billion for new AI startup Thinking Machines LabAshley CapootAmazon-backed Anthropic rolls out Claude AI for financial servicesAshley CapootRead More, in this volatile climate.