Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg fired “roughly 20” employees who spilled “confidential information” about the social media giant – weeks after the tech tycoon complained about leaks — and more heads could soon roll, the company said Thursday.
“We tell employees when they join the company, and we offer periodic reminders, that it is against our policies to leak internal information, no matter the intent,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
“We recently conducted an investigation that resulted in roughly 20 employees being terminated for sharing confidential information outside the company, and we expect there will be more.”
The Facebook and Instagram parent did not provide details on how they uncovered who the alleged rogue staffers were or what departments they worked in.
The crackdown follows several instances in which remarks by Zuckerberg and other top brass that were made during internal meetings or sent in companywide memos appeared in news reports.
Meta has been wracked by internal dissent after Zuckerberg scrapped DEI initiatives and ended the company’s controversial fact-checking efforts, moves that critics claim were made to cozy up to President Trump.
During a January Q&A session with Meta employees about the company’s recent change of direction, Zuckerberg grumbled about the fact that his remarks during the meeting would likely end up in the media.
“We try to be really open and then everything I say leaks,” Zuckerberg said, according to The Verge, which first reported Thursday’s firings. “It sucks.”
As predicted, Zuckerberg’s comments were immediately leaked – which led Meta to fire off a companywide memo warning employees that leakers would be fired.
“When information is stolen or leaked, there are repercussions beyond the immediate security impact,” Meta chief information security officer Guy Rosen said in the memo. “Our teams become demoralized and we all waste time that is better spent working on our products and toward our goals and mission.”
Meta’s chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth later said that the company was “making progress on catching people” — remarks that also leaked to the press.
The firings come on top of the roughly 4,000 workers laid off earlier this month who were classified as “low performers.” The cuts amounted to about 5% of the company’s workforce.
Zuckerberg said he expects an “intense year” ahead as Meta competes with rivals to develop advanced artificial intelligence products and signaled that the company would hire new workers to replace the ousted employees.
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