Meta tests robots to automate data center maintenance

Meta is testing robots inside its data centers that can plug in cables, reset servers, power-cycle equipment and swap networking parts, according to several current and former workers who spoke to Wired on condition of anonymity. The effort, previously unreported, draws on hardware from several vendors: a Kinova Gen3 robotic arm is being evaluated for power-cycling or cutting electricity to servers, a separate robot is being tested for swapping networking cables, and at some sites Meta has quietly deployed a simple finger-like device that presses the power button on a Mac Mini or similar equipment to restart it remotely. One Meta data center worker estimates that if the cable-swapping or power-cycling robot succeeds, it could replace up to 80 percent of some people's workloads. "We thought those of us performing the physical tasks were safe for a while, but not anymore," the worker told Wired. "It's coming for us all, unfortunately."

Meta declined to comment on the specific testing described in the story. Spokesperson Francis Brennan said in a statement that the company is investing heavily in training and hiring workers to build and operate its data centers, arguing that "America is in the middle of its biggest infrastructure boom since World War II" and that the industry needs more workers, not fewer. But Eric Xu, Meta's senior manager for robotics, said at a conference last year that the company's long-term goal is to put robots in data centers to speed up incident response, monitor conditions and handle preventative maintenance, adding that Meta has "to start" even though more collaboration and research is needed.

Robots have historically struggled with the delicate work inside data centers, sometimes crushing servers during early industry trials, but cheaper hardware and more capable AI models have changed the calculus, and several startups are now building commercial robots to assemble servers, swap parts and replace wiring. Meta already runs a self-driving tugger robot to move server racks and a wheeled, barcode-reading inventory robot it built in-house; both operate in several of its data centers, including in Iowa and Virginia. The inventory bot has limitations: its grayscale camera cannot distinguish red and green status lights, it struggles with corners and cables in its path, and it is too slow, according to two sources, prompting Meta to explore drones before dropping that idea.

At its Altoona, Iowa campus, which Meta uses as a testbed for new technology, the company has since last June been trying out a pair of dual-armed Watney robots for cabling work; they are supervised by humans and remain slower than people but show promise. Watney, a San Francisco startup that launched in 2023 with a laundry-folding and janitorial robot, quietly pivoted to data center robots early last year. At Meta's newer Prometheus campus in New Albany, Ohio, four-wheeled robots built by ABB, fitted with a scissor-lift riser and a six-axis arm, are being used to reseat parts and may eventually take on more tasks with less human oversight. Helen Oleynikova, CEO of Exclaim Robotics, which is also building prototypes for replacing parts and resetting cables, cautioned that "there's been a lot of pilots and demos, but no provable working solution." Workers have also complained about battery downtime, and Meta has acknowledged internally that robots cannot yet handle the intense cabling required to run an Nvidia GB300 supercomputer.

The robotics push has drawn little attention from activists campaigning against new data centers, even though tech companies often cite local jobs to justify tax breaks. Meta's Altoona campus, opened in 2014, employs hundreds of workers and still has years left on a property tax break that saves the company tens of millions of dollars annually. Worker group chats in Altoona have reportedly taken on a demoralized tone over the prospect of robots eventually taking their jobs. Two workers told Wired they believe Meta is also developing AI software that would let it hire lower-skilled, lower-paid workers and centralize some roles in cheaper locations such as Denver, Colorado. "They no longer want people who can think independently, come up with creative solutions, or perform complex troubleshooting," one worker said. "They want 'smart hands,' people who are just capable enough to follow AI instructions and not mess anything up."

Meta says its need for skilled labor remains strong: this year it launched a program to train thousands of people annually, regardless of background, in electrical, mechanical and plumbing work at no cost, and it guarantees employment for graduates in states including Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana and Texas, partnering with building trade unions on apprenticeships. Rivals are moving in the same direction: Microsoft and Google announced their own data center robotics investments the year after Meta's 2023 tugger-robot demo, and Amazon last year discussed using robots to recycle parts at its facilities. Ashley Llorens, a managing director at Microsoft's research accelerator, said pursuing robotics for tasks like replacing a faulty server rack is "absolutely something we're looking into." Altoona Mayor Dean O'Connor said he had not given the issue much thought but called automation inevitable: "We will deal with it as it comes."

Key facts

Meta is testing robots from Watney Robotics, Kinova and ABB to plug cables, power-cycle servers, swap networking parts and press power buttons inside its data centers.
One Meta worker estimates a successful cable-swapping or power-cycling robot could replace up to 80 percent of some people's workloads.
Meta's existing tugger and inventory robots already run in data centers including Iowa and Virginia, but the inventory bot is slow and its grayscale camera cannot tell red from green status lights.
At Altoona, Iowa, Watney's dual-armed robots have been trialed for cabling since last June; at New Albany, Ohio, ABB's four-wheel robots reseat parts at the Prometheus campus.
Meta says it is training thousands of workers annually and guaranteeing jobs in states like Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana and Texas, even as two workers say the company is also developing AI tools that could let it hire lower-skilled, lower-paid staff.

Why it matters

As AI infrastructure spending soars, labor is one of the few costs Meta can still compress, and robots that handle cabling, power-cycling and part-swapping offer a path to running a rapidly expanding data center footprint with fewer people. The story matters less for any single robot than for the direction it signals: physical data center work, long assumed safe from automation because of its delicate, hands-on nature, is now a target the same way knowledge work has become one for AI agents.

Who it affects

Data center technicians and contractors doing cabling, server resets and part swaps, particularly at Meta's Altoona, Iowa and New Albany, Ohio campuses, are the most directly affected, alongside anonymous workers who told Wired the mood in Altoona has turned demoralized. Robotics vendors Watney Robotics, Kinova and ABB, and rivals such as Exclaim Robotics, stand to gain from a broader industry shift already underway at Microsoft, Google and Amazon. Local governments that granted Meta tax breaks partly to justify data center jobs, including Altoona itself, also have a stake as the jobs case for those breaks weakens.

How to use it

For anyone watching the data center labor market, the piece is a signal to track which tasks move from human to robot first: power-cycling and cable-swapping are furthest along, while cabling for dense systems like Nvidia's GB300 remains too delicate for current robots. Workers and unions negotiating with hyperscalers can point to Meta's own training and job-guarantee programs, in states like Louisiana, Ohio, Indiana and Texas, as a baseline commitment to measure future hiring against. Local officials weighing tax incentives for new data centers should treat job-count promises as time-limited rather than permanent.

How solid is it

The account rests on Wired's reporting, built on multiple unnamed current and former Meta workers plus on-the-record statements from Meta spokesperson Francis Brennan and robotics manager Eric Xu, and quotes from external figures including Microsoft's Ashley Llorens, Analog Devices' Paul Golding, Exclaim Robotics CEO Helen Oleynikova and Altoona Mayor Dean O'Connor. Kinova and ABB declined to comment and Watney did not respond, so the vendor side of the story is not independently confirmed. Meta itself declined to comment on the specific testing described, though it did not dispute the broader account in its statement.

Risks and caveats

The story does not say how many robots Meta has actually deployed beyond testing and evaluation, nor does it give a timeline for when robots might take over a meaningful share of jobs; Eric Xu's "long-term goals" are left undefined. No cost figures or projected savings are given for the robots versus human labor. The 80 percent workload estimate comes from a single anonymous worker's guess about a robot still being evaluated, not a Meta projection, and Meta explicitly disputes any headcount-reduction motive, saying it needs more workers, not fewer.

“We thought those of us performing the physical tasks were safe for a while, but not anymore. It's coming for us all, unfortunately.”

— a Meta data center worker, quoted anonymously by Wired