Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s chief technology officer, told employees this month that company morale is close to the worst he’s seen in two decades at the company, rivaling the period after the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal, according to Business Insider. The comments follow Meta’s May layoffs of thousands of employees and the creation of a new Applied AI division that absorbed thousands of reassigned staff.
Meta’s layoffs and AI restructuring are hitting employees simultaneously, and the combination seems to be proving hard to manage. Bosworth described morale as “maybe not the worst it’s ever been in 20 years here, but it’s probably up there. It’s definitely up there,” Business Insider reported.
Meta’s reorg moves
Meta’s reorganization involved a reduction in force and an involuntary shift in job function for those who remained. Some employees who survived the cuts were reassigned to AI work without a clear explanation of how the move would affect their career development. In a memo to staff, Bosworth wrote that leadership had done “an atrocious job explaining the vision” behind Meta’s AI reorganization and had “undermined the trust” employees placed in their own expertise and career growth, according to Wired.
Meta workers aren’t alone, as nationwide employees place a premium on communication, according to Gallup’s findings from its ongoing employee engagement tracking program. Researchers found that 29% of employees say leaders do not communicate clearly, honestly or consistently. This suggests that employees want transparent leadership and two-way trust, not directives trickling down from the top of the org chart.
Zuckerberg himself addressed the broader unrest in a separate memo, writing, “we’ve made mistakes” in Meta’s AI transformation and cautioning that the company will “almost certainly make more,” as HR Executive reported. He also said leadership does not anticipate further mass layoffs this year, while stopping short of ruling them out entirely.
How Meta could bounce back
Meta’s response, as detailed in the Bosworth memo Wired reviewed, includes capping managers at roughly 20 direct reports, reducing how often staff is moved between managers during reorganizations and allowing employees reassigned to the Applied AI unit to apply for other roles. Meta has also increased budgets for travel, events and office amenities, according to Wired.
Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends report, based on insights from nearly 10,000 leaders across 93 countries, argues that transparent communication is a must to maintain engagement during uncertainty. The report says many leaders are stuck in a “wait-and-see” cycle, but that inaction can be damaging, and that organizations balancing business and human outcomes are better positioned to build trust and drive performance.
Simona Spelman, U.S. human capital national leader and principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP wrote, “When we look more closely at each worker’s skills, tasks, motivations and wellbeing, we can better incentivize them to stay longer and think more creatively about how their organization can succeed.”
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