Meta Employees Strongly Dislike Mark Zuckerberg’s Proposal for a Companywide AI Hackathon

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s internal message on Friday regarding a significant companywide AI hackathon scheduled for next month quickly ignited frustration and disbelief among employees.

In internal communications observed by WIRED, numerous employees expressed that the additional responsibilities following recent mass layoffs at the tech giant left them with little opportunity to engage in such extracurricular activities. Others conveyed feeling disheartened about participating due to perceived low morale and dwindling trust in management throughout the organization.

“I’m literally focused on keeping the lights on for my team,” one worker commented on Friday. “I have no motivation to participate, not to mention the time to do so.”

In a message sent to Meta’s approximately 70,000 employees, Zuckerberg positioned the hackathon as an opportunity for staff to foster camaraderie amidst widespread internal unrest. Ime Archibong, a vice president of product management at Meta, later provided further details about the event, stating it would occur from July 14 to July 16 and concentrate “exclusively on AI Innovation.”

Archibong’s message encountered immediate backlash from several employees, who replied with frustrated comments and sarcastic memes. “I’m not certain this company promotes a hackathon culture anymore,” one employee remarked in a post that received over 200 thumbs-up and heart emojis. “People are being asked to manage more tasks with less support while their colleagues are let go, all while trying to avoid the risks of causing SEV1s [serious technical errors] due to hasty AI implementation.”

The same employee claimed that participation in the hackathon would not be factored into performance evaluations, intensifying frustration among workers about the potential need to pause other projects to partake.

Dozens also reacted with laughter and thumbs-up to a meme referencing the comedy film We’re the Millers, which humorously posed the question, “You all have the time for a hackathon?”

“I genuinely don’t have the time to concentrate on this, and I’m expected to be 100% committed” to my regular responsibilities, another employee commented. “I’ve participated in past hackathons, but this no longer seems feasible alongside pod sprints in my part of the company.”

A third staff member criticized what they described as “a disappointing cultural shift,” noting, “I don’t believe there is a sufficient sense of safety to invest time in hackathon innovations.”

Meta opted not to comment for this piece.

Meta has traditionally organized internal hackathons, but two sources informed WIRED that this is the first companywide one to occur since 8,000 employees were laid off last month.

A veteran software engineer at Meta responded to some of the employees’ grievances by asserting that everyone is encouraged to take part. However, the message did not resonate well. “Every organization I know has very aggressive targets, with expected efficiency gains and significantly fewer staff,” one employee retorted. “There’s less time available to focus on other areas.”

The hackathon was among several initiatives Zuckerberg introduced on Friday to reinvigorate his workforce and address internal concerns regarding the recent layoffs and other issues. He mentioned that budgets for team offsites would increase and that the concept of hot desking—where employees who only work in the office part-time share desks—would be eliminated in some locations.

Last year, some employees collaborated to survey colleagues about the removal of their desks and the chaos and reduced productivity they believed it brought about, according to an individual familiar with the discussions who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the topic. The group advocated for management to return to individual workspaces for every employee. The layoffs seem to have opened up space but left less time for hacking.