Mark, CEO of Meta Zuckerberg’s internal announcement On Friday, a “big” company-wide AI hackathon next month quickly sparked frustration and disbelief among employees.
In internal messages seen by WIRED, some workers wrote that the increased responsibilities following recent massive layoffs at the tech giant had left them little time to participate in such ancillary activities. Others said they felt discouraged from participating because of what they saw as low morale and a loss of confidence in the company’s leadership.
“I am literally concerned about keeping the lights on for my team,” one employee wrote Friday. “I have no incentive to participate, let alone have the time to do so. »
In a message shared with Meta’s approximately 70,000 employees, Zuckerberg supervised the hackathon as a way for staff to build camaraderie at a time of widespread internal unrest. Ime Archibong, vice president of product management at Meta, then shared additional details about the event, which he said would take place July 14-16 and focus “exclusively on AI innovation.”
Archibong’s post sparked a quick backlash from several employees, who responded with angry messages and sarcastic memes. “I’m not sure this company still supports a hackathon culture,” one employee wrote in a comment that drew more than 200 kudos and heartfelt reactions. “People are being asked to do more work with less support while their colleagues are laid off, while trying to avoid the risk of causing VES1. [serious technical errors] with reckless use of AI.
The same employee claimed that the hackathon efforts would not be counted in performance reviews, fueling workers’ frustration about the prospect of putting aside other projects to participate.
Dozens of people also reacted by laughing and giving thumbs up to a meme inspired by the comedy film. We are the Millersstating: “Do you all have time for a hackathon?
“I honestly don’t have time to focus on this and I’m supposed to dedicate myself 100%” to regular work, another employee wrote. “I’ve participated in previous hackathons, but this no longer seems like an option alongside pod sprints in my corner of the business.”
A third staff member denounced what he described as “a disappointing culture change” because “I don’t think there’s enough of a sense of safety to dedicate time to hackathon innovations.”
Meta declined to comment for this story.
Meta has long hosted hackathonsbut two sources tell WIRED this is the first company-wide event since laying off 8,000 people last month.
A Meta software engineering veteran responded to some employee complaints by saying everyone is encouraged to participate. But the message still hasn’t really gotten through. “Every organization I know has very aggressive goals, with expected efficiencies and significantly reduced headcount,” one employee responded. “We have less time to concentrate on other areas.”
The hackathon was one of several initiatives Zuckerberg outlined Friday to reinvigorate his workforce and address internal criticism over recent layoffs and other concerns. He said budgets for off-site teams would increase and the concept of shared officeor workers only working in the office part of the time and having to share their desk, would be eliminated in some offices.
Last year, some workers banded together to question colleagues about the removal from their offices and the chaos and loss of productivity they believe it caused, according to a person familiar with the efforts who requested anonymity to describe sensitive discussions. The group urged management to give each employee their own space again. The layoffs appear to have freed up space, while leaving less time to work.
