An email from Meta Platforms Inc META co-founder Mark Zuckerberg from 2010 is making the rounds online and shows what the CEO thought of employees who were leaking information to the media.
What Happened: The owner of social media platforms Facebook and Instagram, Meta Platforms has seen exceptional growth in users and revenue over the years. Meta Platforms is now facing some questions about its future growth with multiple rounds of layoffs announced by the company.
In the wake of more layoffs, an internal email sent by Zuckerberg to employees in 2010 is making its way around online, which could show details on concerns about the work culture and how employees have been treated under Zuckerbergs leadership.
The 2010 email is in response to a story from TechCrunch that Facebook was working on its own mobile phone, something Zuckerberg denied.
It is frustrating and destructive that anyone here thought it was okay to say this to anyone outside the company. This was an act of betrayal. The fact that the story was inaccurate doesnt make it any better, Zuckerberg said in an email that was marked as confidential, do not share.
Zuckerberg said that he had to spend a lot cleaning up the damage from this mess.
Even now, were in a more precarious position with companies in the mobile space who should be our partners because they now think were competitors.
In the letter, Zuckerberg laid out a solution for the leaker in question.
So Im asking whoever leaked this to resign immediately. If you believe that its ever appropriate to leak internal information, you should leave. If you dont resign, we will almost certainly find out who you are anyway.
The Facebook CEO went on to say that the company promotes openness and transparency.
Lets commit to maintaining complete confidentiality about the company no exceptions. If you cant handle that, then just leave. We have too much social good to build to have to deal with this.
Related Link: Zuckerberg Says He Was More Thoughtful About Layoffs Than Musk's Job Cuts At Twitter
Why Its Important:While the email is over 10 years old, it could share parallels with the current place Meta Platforms finds itself in, cutting jobs and upsetting employees.
Meta Platforms announced 11,000 job cuts, representing around 13% of its workforce, in November 2022.
Zuckerberg took accountability for the layoffs and called them the most difficult changes weve made in Metas history.
I want to take accountability for these decisions and how we got here, Zuckerberg said. I know this is tough for everyone, and Im especially worried for those impacted.
Zuckerberg acknowledged increasing hiring and investments with the impact of COVID-19 leading to more people spending time online and e-commerce sales increasing, both benefitting Meta Platforms.
I got this wrong, and I take responsibility for that.
Meta Platforms announced fourth-quarter results in February and saw shares increase after announcing lower costs and expenses expected for the new fiscal year.
Our management theme for 2023 is the year of efficiency and were focused on becoming a stronger and more nimble organization, Zuckerberg said.
In March, Meta Platforms announced it was laying off an additional 10,000 employees in a move that could save the company $5 billion.
Struggles from Meta Platforms in the employee and jobs department likely wont sit well with many who have seen the company spend aggressively on growing its metaverse aspirations.
Shares of Meta Platforms jumped in November 2022 on rumors that Zuckerberg was resigning. A Meta Platforms rep told Benzinga the rumor was not true at the time.
META Price Action: Meta Platforms shares are up 1.63% to $201.03versus a 52-week trading range of $88.09 to $236.86.
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