Updated
Updated · Mashable · Jun 19
Meta Adds 20-Report Cap and Perks After 8,000 Layoffs Crater Morale
Updated
Updated · Mashable · Jun 19

Meta Adds 20-Report Cap and Perks After 8,000 Layoffs Crater Morale

3 articles · Updated · Mashable · Jun 19

Summary

  • Meta plans more snacks, bigger travel budgets, office social events and a 20-direct-report cap for managers after CTO Andrew Bosworth said morale is near one of the company’s worst points.
  • 8,000 layoffs last month—about 10% of Meta’s workforce—and the involuntary reassignment of at least 6,500 employees to Applied AI drove much of the discontent, with some workers calling the new work menial and soul-crushing.
  • Bosworth said Meta had damaged trust by disrupting management structures, mishandling communication and leaving teams in limbo during rapid strategy shifts, while also facing backlash over plans to track U.S. employees’ keystrokes and mouse movements to train AI.
  • Meta has tried to calm fears by saying there will be no further mass layoffs, allowing reassigned Applied AI staff to apply for other internal roles, and offering optional AI coaching while insisting it does not plan to replace AI workers with AI.

Insights

Is Meta turning its employees into data points, repeating the same mistakes from its user privacy scandals?
With rivals poaching talent, can Meta's AI ambitions survive a culture described as a 'soul-crushing gulag'?
Can better snacks and bigger travel budgets truly fix a workforce's broken trust after mass layoffs?