Meta CTO: AI reshuffles and layoffs have crushed morale to 20-year low

Morale at Meta has hit a 20-year low after simultaneous layoffs and AI reorganization

In May, Meta conducted mass layoffs and simultaneously created a new Applied AI division that absorbed thousands of reassigned staff. Andrew Bosworth, Meta's chief technology officer, told employees this month that company morale is now "maybe not the worst it's ever been in 20 years here, but it's probably up there," according to Business Insider. He compared the current state to the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal.

The scale of the organizational shake-up accelerated the damage. Surviving employees were moved into AI roles without clear explanation of how the move would affect their career trajectory. In a memo reviewed by Wired, Bosworth acknowledged that leadership had done "an atrocious job explaining the vision" behind the restructuring and had "undermined the trust" employees placed in their expertise and growth path.

Mark Zuckerberg addressed the broader unrest in a separate memo, writing that the company had "made mistakes" in the AI transformation and that leadership will "almost certainly make more." He stated that the company does not anticipate further mass layoffs this year, though he stopped short of ruling them out entirely.

Broken communication erodes retention when you need it most

The core failure wasn't the restructuring itself—it was the absence of a coherent story about why it happened and what it means for individual careers. Gallup research finds that 29% of employees say leaders do not communicate clearly, honestly or consistently. At Meta's scale, that gap between decision-making and explanation creates vacuum space for uncertainty and departure.

Meta's response includes structural fixes: capping managers at roughly 20 direct reports, reducing involuntary staff reassignments, and allowing Applied AI workers to apply for other roles. The company has also increased budgets for travel, events, and office amenities. But process fixes don't repair broken trust. Deloitte's Global Human Capital Trends report, based on input from nearly 10,000 leaders across 93 countries, argues that transparent communication is non-negotiable during uncertainty. Many leaders, the report notes, are stuck in a "wait-and-see" cycle, but inaction compounds the damage.

For a company betting its strategic future on AI infrastructure and talent retention, this timing is costly. Engineering teams need clarity to execute velocity. Uncertainty drives out the people you can least afford to lose.

Separate your reorganization communication from your business case

If you are leading a team through a reorganization, your job is not to defend the business decision. Your job is to explain the personal impact. Who moves where. Why their skills matter in the new structure. What happens to their comp, their manager, their growth path. What options they have if the move doesn't fit them.

Do this before the reorganization, not after. Do it one-on-one with your direct reports, not in all-hands. And do it with specifics, not narrative. "We're moving your team to the AI org because we're doubling down on language models and your backend expertise is critical there," lands differently than "we're optimizing for AI transformation."

Bosworth's admission that leadership failed on this front is valuable. It's also a reminder that good intentions and correct strategy don't survive poor execution on the people side.