Meta recently faced intense backlash for laying off 8,000 employees, or 10% of its workforce, and redeploying 7,000 staff to focus on training AI models.
As a result of the massive layoffs, Facebook and Instagram’s parent companies have come under heavy criticism from employees as well as the tech community. The move was so sudden and shocking that employees woke up to termination emails sent at 4 a.m.
Some former employees took to the Internet to air their frustrations with such unprofessional and harmful behavior. An engineer named Jeremy Bernier, who was fired from Meta, wrote on the X account, calling Meta the “most toxic company I’ve ever worked for.”
Another former employee, who was also fired, said goodbye to Mehta with a scathing anti-AI video.
Software engineer David Frenk created a parody of “American Pie” with high production values as a “badge post” to highlight his final message on retirement.
The video went viral within the company, capturing employee dissatisfaction with management.
This video specifically focuses on Meta’s “Model Capability Initiative” (MCI). The company introduced the tool earlier this month to track staff mouse clicks and keystrokes for AI training to mimic human behavior.
Despite constant scrutiny, employees are also frustrated by the disconnect between mass layoffs and the record profits the company is making.
The video has gained attention beyond internal channels, particularly at Blind, where employees voiced concerns about the negative culture in the tech industry.
