After axing thousands of jobs and monitoring employees as they train the AI that could ultimately replace them, it’s perhaps unsurprising that morale at Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is at a low ebb.

It was confirmed this week in a leaked meeting to Business Insider in which Chief Technical Officer Andrew “Boz” Bosworth said that morale is “probably one of the worst it’s ever been.”

He added: “Maybe not the worst it’s ever been in 20 years here, but it’s probably up there. It’s definitely up there,” he said during an internal chat with employees.

Bosworth said that Cambridge Analytica was “probably the worst,” referring to the massive 2018 data breach when millions of users had personal data taken from them by a British consulting firm for the purposes of political advertising.

So far in 2026, Meta staff have had plenty to grumble about. The company laid off 8,000 jobs in April and began tracking workers’ computer activity. The monitoring is so that the company can train its AI models, raising the awkward issue that staff could be helping the very tech that could wind up replacing them.

Aside from the layoffs and 1984-esque surveillance, Meta has assigned roughly 10% of its workforce to train its AI models full-time, which is largely mind-numbing data-labeling. The Applied AI engineering unit comprises roughly 6,500 engineers and product managers. Workers liken it to being “drafted” — one even went so far as to describe it as a “gulag.”

The changes led to Boz declaring that the “vibes are off” in the company during the leaked call that was held on June 2. The CTO hosts a weekly session known as “Tuesdays with Boz.”

But Meta’s leadership, recognizing the company’s sagging esprit de corps, is taking steps to improve morale. For starters, the snack budget is being increased, along with the travel and events fund.

In a memo that Boz sent to despairing staff on Monday, obtained by Wired, he said the company needs to “be the best place for the best people to do their best work,” and that he hoped to “rekindle the best of the culture.”

“We must provide our people the support to do things the right way for the long term, including taking smart risks when the situation calls for it and to be recognized for it,” the memo reads.

Image credits: Severance / Apple Studios

PetaPixel articles may include affiliate links; if you buy something through such a link, PetaPixel may earn a commission.

Love PetaPixel? Go Premium.

PetaPixel is the world’s largest independent photography publication and we’re only able to continue our work with your help. Become a PetaPixel Member now and support our mission to bring you regular, high-quality reviews, features, news, and more.

• Remove banner ads
• Gain access to full-resolution RAW and JPEG Sample Galleries
• Get 5% off orders from KEH.com
• Get a $15 coupon to spend at Moment
• Get 10% off lighting equipment from FJ Westcott
• Get 10% off film development, scanning, and printing from Blue Moon Camera and Machine