“Like in a labor camp”: That’s why the mood among meta-employees is at its lowest point

The mood at Meta is bad. The main reason for this is said to be the chaotic implementation of the AI ​​strategy. As Business Insider reports, citing statements from four anonymous employees, CTO Andrew Bosworth explained in the internal chat format “Tuesdays with Boz” in early June that the current work morale is “maybe not the worst it’s ever been here in the last 20 years, but it’s probably way down. It’s definitely way down.” Only the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which data from millions of Facebook users was used to specifically influence voters, was an even greater low point.

20 percent affected by restructuring

The frustration has a long history. As early as the end of 2025, human resources manager Janelle Gale announced that the success of all employees would in future be evaluated based on how they use AI to work more productively. Since then, teams have been encouraged to take part in AI training and develop their own tools several times a week. Reactions are divided: While some experience the phase as motivating, others report increasing pressure and fear of dismissal. The concerns are not unfounded: In May, Meta announced that around 20 percent of the workforce would be affected by restructuring.

Around half of the relevant employees were laid off, the other half were transferred to new AI projects. Accordingly, they should work from home on May 20th and wait for an email about their possible new role. The dismissal emails were also sent that day. As Engadget reports, Meta had already announced major job cuts at the end of April, thereby fueling uncertainty among employees. Gale said at the time that the decision was “part of continued efforts to run (Meta) more efficiently” and would allow the company to offset other investments.

Work ethic reaches new low

Since then, the mood has deteriorated significantly – especially in the new AI teams. Wired spoke to several employees on condition of anonymity. “It’s literally like being in a labor camp. You suddenly have no meaning in life at all, you hardly have any contact with others, you just have these tasks every week,” a Meta employee is said to have said. Another person confirmed to Wired: “Most people find the work grueling.” Accordingly, some of the frustration even took the form of insults. A recording obtained by Wired shows that the leader of a live presentation was asked to tell a certain AI manager that he was “a piece of shit.”

In another memo, which Wired was also able to see, CEO Mark Zuckerberg is said to have admitted that the recent changes at Meta had caused unrest. “Given the complexity of these changes, we have made mistakes and we will almost certainly make more. As we move through this phase, I am also focused on ensuring as much stability as possible going forward,” it said. According to Wired, Bosworth addressed employee frustration more directly and admitted that the company did not do a good job of restructuring.

How Meta wants to motivate employees

To improve morale, according to Wired, Bosworth promised to make Meta an “exciting and enjoyable” workplace – including better break areas and higher travel budgets so that employees can spend more time together. At the same time, however, he emphasized that the redistribution to the AI ​​teams was the right decision. There are times “when work requires sacrifice” – and teams may have to work on projects that they “personally don’t find as fulfilling.”