Mark Zuckerberg has laid off 3,600 staff at Meta in a shock culling spree designed to target ‘low performing’ staff.

But impacted employees are coming forward to challenge the perception that Zuckerberg simply wanted to cut the dead weight, insisting that excuse was just a ‘corporate facade.’

‘This wasn’t about performance; it was about workforce reduction in favor of AI initiatives,’ former Meta content manager Kaila Curry said.

‘Maybe I ”lacked masculine energy” (to quote Mark Zuckerberg himself). Who knows?’

Curry said she received an ‘exceeds expectations’ result in her most recent mid-year review, and often asked for feedback about her performance.

‘I was always told I was doing a good job,’ she said.

‘I was never placed on a PIP, never given corrective feedback, and never properly mentored or provided clear expectations. I simply put in the work – often on weekends – while being isolated in an empty office.’

In mid-January, Zuckerberg announced plans to ‘raise the bar on performance management and move out low performers faster.’

Mark Zuckerberg has laid off 3,600 staff at Meta in a shock culling spree designed to target ‘low performing’ staff

Meta has focused on hiring machine-learning engineers this year as it continues to develop and build AI features

In all, he hoped to wipe out about five per cent of his workforce. 

‘We typically manage out people who aren’t meeting expectations over the course of a year,’ he said in an internal memo seen by Bloomberg. 

‘But now we’re going to do more extensive performance-based cuts during this cycle.’ 

In a similar vein to Curry’s experience, Meta product designer Steven S. shared his own experience of being let go in the cuts on LinkedIn.

‘I was let go today – but not because I was a ‘Low Performer’,’ he said.

‘This morning, I found out I was part of Meta’s latest round of layoffs – one of the 5% of employees impacted across the company. 

‘If you’ve seen the headlines, you’ve probably also seen how leadership is framing this: a move to ‘raise the bar’ by cutting so-called ‘low performers.’

‘Let’s be clear: that label is misleading, and for many of us, it’s flat-out wrong.’

‘This wasn’t about performance; it was about workforce reduction in favor of AI initiatives,’ former Meta content manager Kaila Curry said

Meta product designer Steven S. shared his own experience of being let go in the cuts on LinkedIn

Curry, who was employed at Meta for one year, said she managed weekend content operations from the hub in San Francisco, after initially applying for the role based in New York.

‘I originally applied for a New York-based role, only to be given a last-minute ultimatum: relocate to San Francisco or lose the opportunity,’ she said.

‘Since the move was covered, I took the chance. When I arrived, I learned I was the only person on my team required to be in the office.’

She alleged that during her one year at the company, she had five managers and two ‘reorgs’ – in what she described as a ‘whirlwind’ in which she was ‘not set up for success.’ 

‘Perhaps I became too vocal when our shift to young adult (YA) content involved removing safeguards that protected LGBTQ+ users.

‘I spoke up because I didn’t want to contribute to a platform that could increase suicide rates among LGBTQ+ youth.’

Meta has focused on hiring machine-learning engineers this year as it continues to develop and build AI features.