Mark Zuckerberg has been in the spotlight recently, mostly for not the best reasons. The Meta Platforms (META) CEO drew significant ire from many social media users when he announced that Facebook would end its fact-checking policy and replace it with a system similar to that of X’s Community Notes, a product of the network’s Elon Musk era. Additionally, Zuckerberg’s decision to attend President Donald Trump’s inauguration has also sparked strong criticism from social media users. This is evidenced by the fact that in the weeks since then, Google (GOOGL) searches for how to delete Facebook, Instagram, and Threads accounts have surged significantly. But an even more recent decision by Zuckerberg and the rest of Meta’s leaders has resulted in even more backlash from the digital community, calling the company’s initial claims into question. In mid-January 2025, Meta made an announcement that seemed fairly routine at first: the company would be restructuring, which meant significant job cuts. Layoffs are hardly unique to the tech sector. In 2024, many of the industry’s most prominent names, including Tesla (TSLA), Google, and Amazon (AMZN), reduced their workforces. But when Zuckerberg decided to implement these job cuts, he used two words that have resulted in strong blowback: low performers. More specifically, in an internal memo, Zuckerberg stated, “I’ve decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low performers faster.” He added, “This is going to be an intense year, and I want to make sure we have the best people on our team.” Meta attempted to frame these layoffs as simply part of its restructuring plan to continue growing in 2025. But the employees who have been laid off and classified as “low performance” have since sounded off, making it clear that they believe Meta’s choice to label them as such is neither fair nor deserved. More than that, some impacted Meta staffers have made it clear that they believe the company made its decision not based on their performances but on a desire to shift focus to artificial intelligence (AI). “This wasn’t about performance; it was about workforce reduction in favor of AI initiatives,” states Kaila Curry, a former Meta Content Manager in a LinkedIn post. Curry notes that she received an “exceeds expectations” rating in her mid-year review. Curry also raises the possibility that she might have become “too vocal when [Meta’s] shift to young adult (YA) content involved removing safeguards that protected LGBTQ+ users.” Others recently laid off Meta employees have voiced skepticism regarding the low performers label. Rebecca Cassity, who served as a Senior Content Designer on Meta’s Trust and Privacy, states, “My last annual review at Meta was glowing – I earned an Exceeds Expectations rating.” One clear takeaway from the recent Meta layoffs is that the company did not handle the situation well, regardless of how the impacted employees performed. Human resources expert Daniel Space spoke to TheStreet about this, stating, “Anyone who was impacted as a ‘low performer’ should have been told this a year ahead of time, given ample time and direct courses of action to take and been given feedback on how it’s going.” This isn’t the first time a big tech CEO has laid off workers in a way that might come across as cruel or unnecessary. In May 2024, Elon Musk sent an email to Tesla staffers who required disability accommodations, laying them off because the company could offer “no reasonable accommodation.” Meta’s actions seem to be in line with this trend, at least according to experts. “Meta cares about their bottom line, and nothing more,” states Caitlin Begg, a sociologist and founder of Authentic Social. “Every action that they have taken to say otherwise was motivated by purely self-interest, in order to persuade people to work there.” She adds that a lack of transparency around policy and practices at Meta has caused the company’s brand as an employer to suffer in recent years. As Meta attempts to pivot toward a business model that focuses less on people and more on AI initiatives, it might appear as though these layoffs signal a turning point for the industry. However, according to some experts, this development should be seen as a reflection on Meta, not on the broader tech field. “What we’re seeing here is the devaluation of human capital in favor of short-term operational efficiency,” says Patrice Williams-Lindo, CEO of Career Nomad. She adds that while Meta’s layoffs may reflect a broader trend of prioritizing profits over people, the demand for skilled coders is likely to remain high. — news from TheStreet