Meta's New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low Morale

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Layoffs, Morale, and Culture

  • Many describe morale as “spiraling,” not just dipping during formal layoff windows, due to repeated cuts, reorgs, shifting priorities, and policy reversals since ~2022.
  • Debate over layoff style: drawn‑out “humane” processes are said to worsen anxiety; sudden cuts feel brutal but cleaner.
  • Several current/former employees report a more cutthroat, political, backstab‑heavy environment, with a “death spiral” dynamic: top talent leaves, strivers and those with fewer options remain.
  • Some liken the 10% layoff cadence to “decimation” as collective punishment; others compare it to longstanding stack‑ranking practices.
  • A few argue Meta now resembles a typical mature Fortune 500; others insist it is significantly worse.

Why People Work There

  • Dominant motive cited: compensation (high salary + large RSUs, sometimes approaching or exceeding $1M/year for certain roles/levels).
  • “Golden handcuffs”: unvested stock and high cost of living make it hard to leave even for unhappy or ethically uneasy employees.
  • Secondary motives: working with top ML talent, solving large‑scale technical problems, or pursuing VR/Reality Labs interests.
  • Some report that pre‑Covid Meta was collaborative, fun, and high‑autonomy; many say that culture is gone.

Ethics and Personal Justifications

  • Thread repeatedly references Meta’s role in political manipulation, teen mental health harms, and events like Myanmar, plus addictive engagement‑driven design.
  • Views split:
    • Some refuse to ever work at ad‑driven or surveillance‑oriented companies and express little sympathy for those who do.
    • Others argue people are constrained by economic realities and see “working for the devil” as different from merely buying ads.
    • A few employees try to mitigate harm by working on integrity/safety or by donating significant income, while acknowledging lingering guilt.

AI, Productivity, and Executive Strategy

  • Mixed views on AI:
    • Some blame AI‑driven cost cutting for destroying a once “fun and profitable” profession.
    • Others say Meta’s morale problems predate AI and stem from bloat, focus on ads, and post‑ZIRP discipline.
  • Reports of heavy internal pressure to use AI tools; some claim AI‑generated “slop” slows them down because they must fix low‑quality code.
  • Concern that apathetic engineers plus AI could damage the platform, and that leadership may underestimate this risk.

Industry‑Wide Reflections

  • Several see Meta’s situation as emblematic of a broader shift: executives insulated from consequences, layoffs as a financial fashion, and widespread employee alienation.
  • Some predict sustained low morale could eventually degrade Instagram/WhatsApp quality—seen by a few as a net positive for society.