Meta CEO promises stability as staff revolt over chaotic AI strategy
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has pledged no further mass layoffs and improved management ratios, while CPO Chris Cox acknowledges the “brutal” work environment as the company navigates a turbulent period in its AI ambitions.
Meta has faced intensifying internal dissent regarding its artificial intelligence strategy, with employees citing chaotic management, record-low morale, and a sense of purposelessness following significant organisational changes. The unrest was underscored by an incident during an internal livestream where an employee interrupted the presentation with an expletive-filled outburst directed at the leadership of the Applied AI unit, which was established in March to support Meta Superintelligence Labs.
The Applied AI unit, comprising approximately 6,500 engineers and product managers, has become a focal point of dissatisfaction. According to current employees speaking to WIRED, staff have been assigned menial tasks, such as generating puzzles to test AI model reliability, which they describe as “soul-crushing” and a waste of their technical skills. Some workers have likened the environment to the “gulag,” noting that they were effectively drafted into the unit with no option to remain in their previous roles or leave the company.
Tensions extend beyond the AI division, exacerbated by the recent restructuring that saw 10 per cent of the workforce, or 8,000 employees, laid off last month. The resulting increase in workload and stress has impacted other areas, including data centre engineering and Instagram. Compounding the friction is a programme monitoring employee keystrokes and clicks to generate AI training data, which has prompted a petition signed by over 1,600 staff members demanding its cessation.
In response to the growing discontent, Meta chief product officer Chris Cox described the current work environment as “brutal” and compared it to “running a marathon in the middle of a hailstorm.” During a meeting with Instagram staff, Cox acknowledged the “insanity” of recent months and admitted that the company’s AI capabilities are “nowhere near as good as you think it is,” urging leaders to reconnect with the workforce and avoid being overearnest about the technology’s current power.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed the distress in an internal memo, acknowledging that the complexity of the changes had led to mistakes and promising greater stability. He committed to no further mass layoffs this year, introduced plans to limit manager-to-employee ratios which had ballooned to 50-to-one in some teams, and announced increased budgets for team events. Zuckerberg also indicated that employees would return to assigned desks by the end of the year and framed the Applied AI unit as a temporary “waypoint” rather than a permanent destination.
