Tensions were precocious wrong Meta up of Mark Zuckerberg’s first all-hands gathering of the year.
Employee-submitted questions for the CEO touched connected a mates of large themes: concerns astir his announcement that “low-performers” would beryllium fto spell connected February 10th, his MAGA-fueled changes to Meta’s contented moderation policies and DEI programs, and his remark to Joe Rogan about wanting much “masculine energy” successful the workplace. “Are the changes we’re seeing (in immoderate way) influenced by the caller U.S. president?” asked 1 worker up of the soul meeting. “If so, why are we making changes based connected these factors?”
With a batch of the rank and record intelligibly connected edge, Zuckerberg made judge location would beryllium less opportunities for play during today’s Q&A. Before it started, HR notified labor that “we will skip questions that we expect mightiness beryllium unproductive if they leak.” For the first time, the astir upvoted worker questions were nary longer classed for everyone to spot and comments were abnormal during the livestream.
Before jumping into the Q&A, Zuckerberg addressed the changes caput on: “We effort to beryllium really unfastened and past everything I opportunity leaks. It sucks.”
“We are going to effort to reside each the main themes and topics but, for wherever we are now, location are conscionable a bunch of things that I deliberation are value-destroying for maine to talk about,” he continued. “So I’m conscionable not going to talk astir those.” (Meta declined to remark for this story.)
There were still immoderate things Zuckerberg was comfortable addressing. Fears astir a return-to-office argumentation change? “I conscionable person not been focused connected this astatine all. I deliberation the position quo is fine. Carry on.” The rationale down ending immoderate worker perks, for illustration free EV charging astatine the office, erstwhile Meta is printing money? “Part of the logic why we’re doing good financially is because we’re being disciplined connected costs.”
What astir the looming “low-performer” layoffs? “The correct point to do is conscionable rip the band-aid off,” he said. “I think, successful a batch of ways, it is simply a nicer point to do for group who are astir apt not going to extremity up making it anyway.”
Clad successful a golden concatenation and achromatic agelong sleeve shirt, Zuckerberg explained his determination to extremity Meta’s diversity, equity, and inclusion programs: “I deliberation the guidance of the argumentation and regulatory and ineligible guidance connected a batch of this worldly is that you can’t do things that advantage circumstantial groups, moreover if you’re trying to dress up for different things.”
He noted that “we’re astir apt going to bring back” unconscious bias training for labor but that it wouldn’t “just focus” connected a “few groups of underrepresented types of people.” Janelle Gale, Meta’s caput of HR, past jumped successful to opportunity “we person zero tolerance for harassment aliases favoritism of immoderate kind,” that the institution will “continue to enlistee from a wide talent pool” and “celebrate” Black History Month.
As to why he overhauled Meta’s contented rules to allow for things for illustration calling trans group “mentally ill,” Zuckerberg framed the determination this way: “There were a bunch of policies that we implemented complete clip that benignant of narrowed what group could opportunity connected our services. Frankly, we were conscionable measurement retired of the mainstream. When we opportunity that personification tin opportunity thing connected our services, it doesn’t needfully mean that we work together pinch that thing. It conscionable intends that we want to beryllium a level wherever group tin talk things.”
Zuckerberg kicked disconnected the gathering mostly reiterating his predictions connected AI and smart glasses from Meta’s net call the time before. He went into much item connected the company’s smart glasses pinch Ray-Ban, which he said sold complete 1 cardinal units past year. (This is the first clip Meta has shared an charismatic income stat connected the glasses widely.)
“A batch of the large deed products successful their 3rd procreation reached 5 to 10 cardinal units,” Zuckerberg said. “So I deliberation 1 of the questions for america is, are we going to spell from 1 cardinal this twelvemonth to 2 million? Are we going to spell from 1 cardinal to 5 million?”
While he didn’t mention it during the meeting, Meta is readying to present a pricey brace of smart glasses pinch a heads-up display, codenamed Hypernova, later this year. They aren’t designed by Ray-Ban aliases its genitor institution EssilorLuxottica, but I expect the eyewear elephantine to play a domiciled successful their commercialized rollout. Meta is besides moving pinch EssilorLuxottica connected Oakley smart glasses for athletes.
“We fundamentally invented the class and our competitors haven’t really shown up yet and they will,” Zuckerberg said successful today’s meeting. “I deliberation we’ll astir apt commencement seeing immoderate of that possibly a small later this year, possibly adjacent year. But we conscionable person this wide unfastened section correct now to tally and fundamentally present arsenic galore group arsenic imaginable to Meta AI glasses and we should return that opportunity.”
Some different highlights from Zuckerberg’s Q&A:
Working pinch the Trump administration: “We now person an opportunity to person a productive business pinch the United States authorities and we’re going to return that. I deliberation it’s the correct point to do because location are respective areas, moreover if we don’t work together connected everything, wherever we person communal origin for things that are going to make it truthful that we tin service our organization amended and we tin beforehand the interests of our state together… We’re going to do those successful a measurement that we’re not going to discuss immoderate of our principles aliases values.”
The scheme for Meta AI: The ChatGPT rival has “around 700 million” monthly users and Zuckerberg believes it will get to 1 cardinal users this year. “We cognize from building a batch of worldly complete the past 20 years that services tin benignant of travel and go, but erstwhile thing reaches that standard and has a information flywheel, it mostly tin create a beautiful durable advantage … We person a bunch of activity to make it much engaging this year. We’re going to attraction a batch connected personalization arsenic 1 of the cardinal themes astir this.”
Competing pinch paid AI products for illustration ChatGPT: “I’m ever looking for ways that we tin person the spot of our business exemplary into delivering a higher value merchandise to people… We person a exemplary that’s competitory pinch the champion models retired location and we connection it for free. We’re not charging $20 aliases $200 a period aliases whatever. Now, I deliberation that location mightiness beryllium an opportunity to do moreover more… We tin present moreover higher value answers than different group successful the manufacture could present and besides make that free.”
AI successful societal media: “I deliberation successful the adjacent fewer years we’re going to person each kinds of provender units that are measurement much interactive… I deliberation this twelvemonth we’re going to person worldly wherever you person an AI supplier successful a video successful your provender but past you tin conscionable commencement talking backmost to it and steer it and inquire it each these absorbing questions.”
Meta’s efforts to build an AI engineer: “Does that mean that we’re not going to request engineers? Actually, the opposite. If an technologist tin now do a 100 times much activity I want a batch much engineers, right? I would conjecture that we’re going to beryllium capable to train AIs to do a amended occupation than a batch of the quality reviewers… It’s astir apt not the lawsuit that benignant of flip will hap until adjacent year.”
DeepSeek: “Whenever I spot personification other do something, I’m like, ‘Ah travel on! We should person been there, right? We [have] sewage to make judge we’re connected it.”
The TikTok ban: “I’m beautiful judge immoderate happens, I’m very assured that Facebook and Instagram Reels are going to proceed growing… Who’s going to ain TikTok astatine the extremity of the year? What’s going to happen? That’s a large deal.”
His parting connection to employees: “It’s going to beryllium an aggravated year, truthful buckle up. We’ve sewage a batch to do. I’m excited astir it.”