PANews reported on August 21 that Meta Platforms (META.O) has frozen hiring in its artificial intelligence department after spending several months recruiting more than 50 artificial intelligence researchers and engineers, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. The hiring freeze, which took effect last week while the department is undergoing a broader restructuring, also prohibits existing employees from moving across teams within the department. The duration of the hiring freeze has not been communicated internally. People familiar with the matter said there may be exceptions for external recruitment, but this requires the approval of Meta's Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer, Alexandr Wang. A Meta spokesperson confirmed the hiring freeze and said it was "basic organizational planning: to create a solid structure for our new super-intelligence project and conduct annual budgeting and planning work after the personnel are in place."