Zuckerberg Tells the Tattered Remainder of His Workers That He Won't Conduct Another a Mass Firing for at Least Seven Months

Meta fired about 8,000 workers, roughly 10% of its staff, and reassigned about 7,000 more to AI projects. Remaining employees continue to have their work activity monitored through surveillance software that tracks and stores computer use, including clicks, keystrokes, and mouse movement. Meta is using this data to train AI models and AI agents intended to perform similar tasks. Meta leadership stated that AI is the most consequential technology and that companies leading in AI will define the next generation. Meta also indicated that no additional large layoffs are expected for at least seven months, while morale remains low and some employees have protested the changes.

"Meta fired about 8,000 workers yesterday - about 10 percent of its staff - and reassigned 7,000 more to AI projects. The company's remaining workers continue to have every click of their work lives monitored as the company pivots from expensive project to even-more-expensive project - but not to worry! According to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, there won't be any more layoffs for at least seven more months."

"According to the New York Times, the layoffs were announced in a company memo, in which Zuckerberg declared that "AI is the most consequential technology of our lifetimes" and that the "companies that lead the way will define the next generation." Per the NYT, Zuckerberg further noted in the memo that he doesn't expect another large culling to take place this year."

"As Reuters reported in April, the social media behemoth recently installed new surveillance software on Meta apps and devices that's designed to track and store its workers' computer use - down to every click, keystroke, and mouse movement - in an effort to use that data to train AI models. In a memo obtained Reuters, Meta's chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth told staff that it was using the data to train AI agents capable of performing similar tasks."

""The vision we are building towards is ​one where our agents primarily do the work," read the memo, "and our role is to direct, review and help them improve." In other words, Meta employees are currently being forced to train agents expressly designed to do exactly what they do. Some workers are pushing back: according to the NYT's reporting, Meta buildings have been plastered with flyers decrying the mass train-your-replacemen"

Read at Futurism