Meta tests data center robots as workers fear for their jobs

Meta is piloting robots that can plug in cables, reboot servers, and inspect equipment at its data centers. Current and former staff say the machines could reduce the ranks of technicians propping up its AI buildout.

The hardware is sourced from a mix of suppliers, said workers who asked not to be identified in a report by Wired. They are Watney Robotics in San Francisco, Kinova in Quebec, and ABB in Zurich.

A Kinova Gen3 arm and a finger that presses power buttons

In one experiment, a Kinova Gen3 robotic arm is tasked with cutting power to servers, while another machine is being tested to swap networking cables.

At some sites, the company has already deployed a device that resembles a finger, or a pointy stick, which prods the power button on a Mac Mini or similar box to reboot it on the command of a remote human.

Kinova and ABB declined to comment, Watney did not respond, and Meta itself declined to comment on the testing.

A cable-swapping robot that works could take over 80% of some people’s workloads, one Meta data center employee said.

That estimate did not come from a Meta prediction but from the worker, who said the machine still can’t match the speed of a human.

“We thought those of us performing the physical tasks were safe for a while, but not anymore,” one worker said. He added, “It’s coming for us all, unfortunately.”

Some employees said Meta is building software to let it hire cheaper, lower-skilled staff and shift some roles to cost-friendly hubs like Denver. One said the company needs “smart hands,” people who can take instructions from AI without breaking anything.

Meta’s capital spending runs to $145 billion

Meta’s long-term goals are to put robots in data centers, said Eric Xu, senior manager for robotics at Meta, at a conference last year. He said they could speed up incident response, monitor the environment, and handle preventative maintenance.

The machines need to be supervised, and they falter on obstacles, short battery life, visual inspections, and tightly packed cabling.

Industry trials sometimes failed in the past with robots crushing servers on simple tasks.

In May 2026, the company began laying off about 8,000 employees, or about 10% of its workforce, and data center staff were among those layoffs.

The cuts were presented in part as freeing up cash for AI spending, with the company’s capital expenditure forecast of $125 billion to $145 billion for the year, more than double the prior year.

ACE Robotics chairman Wang Xiaogang said embodied AI could have a “ChatGPT moment” by the end of 2027.

Cryptopolitan reported that Unitree founder Wang Xingxing put a similar leap two to three years out, and as long as five to ten if progress stalls. He likened it to a robot doing about 80% of the work in an unfamiliar environment.

Lawmakers and economists have begun weighing taxes on robots to offset automation losses.