Mark Zuckerberg confronted by staff over execs getting bonuses while there's mass firings

Mark Zuckerberg had to try and explain himself in a call with Meta employees when they demanded to know why executives in the company received bonuses amid rounds of mass layoffs.

Meta, previously known as Facebook, has bid goodbye to huge numbers of staff in the last few months, with a staggering 11,000 people laid off in November alone.

The move came as Meta's stock fell last year to its lowest level since 2015, and the layoffs have continued into the new year.

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Last Wednesday (19 April), Zuckerberg hosted a call with the Meta employees who are still standing.

According to two people familiar with the call who spoke to Insider, the CEO confirmed Meta had cut 4,000 employees in April.

Zuckerberg is said to have admitted that the most recent cuts impacted management, with about 20 percent of managers either let go or moved into non-management roles.

While all this has been going on, employees noted that Meta execs still received bonuses for their work last year; something that sparked questions during the call last week.

Zuckerberg answered the pre-submitted questions which had been most upvoted by staff, one of which, according to those familiar, was why senior leadership received bonuses at a level of 'exceeds expectations' while bonuses for most employees were lowered.

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Those familiar claimed performance for members of staff was judged more harshly than ever, and that a number of perks and benefits typically offered by the company were cut.

In response to the questions, Zuckerberg reportedly said that several execs, including newly appointed CFO Susan Li, 'received good ratings because they stepped into new roles that they haven't held before and that they've taken on expanded scopes'.

Zuckerberg also claimed that there was a reduction 'baked in' to execs' bonuses as Meta's performance had impacted them negatively overall.

One person present for the call said many employees felt the response was 'shallow' and 'very patronizing'.

"Employees change roles all of the time with expanded scope and they don't automatically exceed expectations," they added. "We are supposed to be outcome-focused."

In its proxy statement for 2022, Meta said execs received a bonus based on an individual performance multiplier.

Meeting expectations would earn them an 85 percent multiplier, but all of them received a multiplier of either 125 percent or 165 percent.

"It's easy to say you are taking full responsibility when there are no financial repercussions to you or your team by doing so," an employee told Insider.

UNILAD has contacted Meta for comment.