Why does Steve Huynh call Meta's latest layoffs a self-inflicted wound?

Steve Huynh, the former Amazon principal engineer behind A Life Engineered, points out that Meta cut a large share of its workforce while posting record profits, then was reported to be trying to rehire managers who understood its systems and to coax former managers back from individual-contributor roles. With profits that strong, he asks why the company would shake things up at all.

• Huynh cites reports that some groups at Meta were cut by 75% to 80%.
• Huynh's thesis is that people who understand AI and can direct agents are being rewarded more than ever, and those who are not are more likely to be let go.

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on A Life Engineered (2026-10-22). Read the whole episode summary →

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