Meta employees are reportedly fuming over CEO Mark Zuckerberg's announcement of a companywide AI hackathon, with many feeling the event is out of touch with their current workload and the company's low morale following recent mass layoffs.
The internal announcement, made Friday, was met with disbelief and frustration in internal messages seen by news outlet WIRED. Employees cited increased responsibilities due to recent layoffs, a lack of time, and declining trust in management as major deterrents to participating in the July 14-16 event, which is focused "exclusively on AI Innovation."
One employee expressed their feelings bluntly, stating, "I’m literally preoccupied with keeping the lights on for my team. I have no incentive to participate, let alone have the time to do so." Others echoed this sentiment, with one commenter writing, "I’m not sure that this company supports a hackathon culture anymore," adding that staff are expected to do more with less support while avoiding serious technical errors with AI.
Adding to the frustration, reports suggest hackathon efforts won't count towards performance evaluations. This has fueled anger among workers, who are already grappling with tight deadlines and less staffing. Sarcastic memes, including one referencing the film "We're the Millers" asking "You all have the time for a hackathon?", have circulated, highlighting the disconnect.
This companywide hackathon comes after Meta laid off 8,000 employees last month. While a Meta software engineering veteran encouraged participation, many employees argue that aggressive goals and reduced staffing leave little room for such initiatives. Zuckerberg also announced other initiatives to boost morale, including increased budgets for team offsites and the end of hot-desking in some offices.
