For makers and artists at Meta, the prospect of a companywide AI hackathon next month feels less like an opportunity to innovate and more like a demand to work harder during a period of intense uncertainty. The announcement from CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been met with sharp resistance from staff who are already stretched thin following recent mass layoffs.
Friction between morale and management expectations
Internal communications reviewed by WIRED reveal a workforce that views this initiative as out of touch with their current reality. Many employees argue that the added responsibilities resulting from the cuts have left them with no capacity for “ancillary activities.” One contributor noted that the prevailing sentiment is one of declining trust in leadership, making participation feel futile.
“I’m literally preoccupied with keeping the lights on for my team,” one staff member wrote. “I have no incentive to participate, let alone have the time to do so.”
Zuckerberg attempted to frame the event as a means to rebuild camaraderie amidst widespread internal unrest. In a message sent to Meta’s roughly 70,000 employees, he proposed the gathering as a way to foster unity. Ime Archibong, a vice president of product management, later clarified that the event would run from July 14 to July 16 and focus “exclusively on AI Innovation.”
The reality of resource constraints
Archibong’s announcement triggered swift pushback, with workers responding via angry messages and sarcastic memes. One employee commented that the company no longer supports a hackathon culture, a sentiment that garnered more than 200 thumbs-up and heart reactions.
“People are being asked to cover more work with less support while their colleagues get laid off, while also trying to avoid the risk of causing SEV1s [serious technical errors] with incautious AI use,” the staffer wrote.
Further frustration stems from the fact that hackathon efforts will not count toward performance evaluations. This disconnect fuels anger about setting aside other projects to participate when job security is already precarious. Dozens of users reacted with laughter to a meme referencing the film We’re the Millers, captioned: “You all have the time for a hackathon?”
“I honestly don’t have the time to focus on this, and I’m expected to be 100% devoted” to regular work, another employee stated. They noted that while they had joined previous events, this iteration no longer feels like a viable option alongside pod sprints in their specific division.
A third staff member described the situation as “a disappointing change in culture,” arguing that there is “not sufficient feeling of safety to spend time on hackathon innovations.”
Meta declined to comment on the story.
While Meta has historically hosted internal hackathons, sources tell WIRED this marks the first companywide event since 8,000 people were laid off last month. A software engineering veteran responded to the complaints by stating that participation is encouraged, but the message failed to resonate. “Every org I know has super aggressive goals, with efficiency gains expected and significantly less staffing,” an employee countered. “There’s less time for focusing on other axis.”
This hackathon is one of several initiatives Zuckerberg outlined on Friday to reenergise the workforce and address criticism regarding the layoffs. He announced that budgets for team offsites would increase and that hot desking—where workers share desks part-time—would be eliminated in some offices.
Last year, employees banded together to survey colleagues about the removal of their desks and the resulting chaos and productivity loss. The group urged management to return to providing every employee with their own space. While the layoffs have opened up physical room, they have simultaneously consumed the time required to hack.
Key takeaways
- Meta employees are rejecting the companywide AI hackathon, citing a lack of time and resources following recent mass layoffs.
- Staff argue that participating in such events is unsafe given the risks of serious technical errors (SEV1s) and the need to maintain existing operations.
- The initiative is viewed as tone-deaf by workers who feel management is prioritising innovation over the stability and trust eroded by the restructuring.
- Despite promises of increased budgets for offsites and the removal of hot desking, the core issue of workforce capacity remains unaddressed.
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