Headcount at Meta, the parent company of Facebook, could see headcount growing by 1% to 2% next year once the current rounds of layoffs are complete, according to comments made in an earnings call this week. The focus when the company does start hiring will be high priority areas such as generative AI.

“And as we complete our layoffs in April and May, we will resume hiring, and we would expect headcount growth in excess of 1% to 2% in 2024 as a result as we ramp up those recruiting pipelines,” Meta CFO Susan Li said in a conference call with analysts.

But Meta will be focused on efficiency when it comes to bringing people on board.

“And as hiring resumes, you’ll find the biggest areas that we are hiring in will be to support priority areas like generative AI, ads, infrastructure, Reality Labs — some of the areas that we've been talking about,” Li said.

She also responded to questions on how Meta will be using AI internally and how that factors into long-term hiring.

“We certainly don't have enough visibility yet into how AI will make our workforce more productive, but it’s something we’re excited about, and I think we will have more clarity on that as more tools begin getting developed to enhance employee productivity across the industry,” Li said.

Meta revenue was up 3% to $28.6 billion; the increase was 6% on a constant currency basis.

The company went through layoffs in November 2022 and the number of employees was down 11% year over year to 77,100. Layoffs in March are not reflected in the number.

Separately, a new report by SIA, “Impact of Emerging Technologies on Staffing” discusses the impact of generative AI will have on the staffing industry.