India, Oct. 23 -- Meta will lay off 600 employees from its 'bloated' AI unit, despite a multi-billion dollar hiring spree earlier this year led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. A Meta spokesperson confirmed the job cuts to CNBC on Wednesday.

The layoffs were announced in a memo from Meta's chief AI officer, Alexandr Wang. Employees in Meta's AI infrastructure units, Fundamental Artificial Intelligence Research unit (FAIR) and other product-related positions will be impacted.

However, people familiar with the matter told CNBC that the layoffs will not affect employees in TBD Labs - a newer division that includes many of the high-profile AI experts hired earlier this year. The unit, overseen by Wang, was spared from the cuts, underscoring CEO Mark...