Mark Zuckerberg Tries to Rally Meta Staff With Fun Morale Gesture — But Employees Aren’t Interested. ‘I’m Literally Preoccupied With Keeping the Lights On.’

Mark Zuckerberg is trying to bring a little fun back to Meta (META). The timing, employees suggest, could hardly be worse.

After Meta cut roughly 8,000 jobs on May 20 and shifted about 7,000 workers into new AI-focused roles, Zuckerberg announced a companywide AI hackathon scheduled for July 14 through July 16, according to Wired. The goal was simple enough: get teams together, build experimental AI projects and create a little camaraderie during a rough stretch.

A hackathon is essentially a fast-paced group project. Employees form teams, spend a few days building an idea, and often compete for prizes or recognition. In healthier moments, it can be a break from the usual calendar of meetings, deadlines and bug fixes.

But for some Meta employees, the idea of adding another project to the pile did not sound like a morale boost. It sounded like another thing to survive.

“I’m literally preoccupied with keeping the lights on for my team,” one employee wrote in an internal forum viewed by Wired. “I have no incentive to participate, let alone have the time to do so.”

A Workplace Science Fair Meets a Very Bad Week

The response was not simply about a three-day event.

Workers told Wired that layoffs, heavier workloads and uncertainty around Meta’s fast-moving AI reorganization had left little room for optional projects. One employee wrote that they were not sure Meta still supported “a hackathon culture anymore,” pointing to the pressure of covering more work with fewer people while trying to avoid serious technical problems tied to rushed AI use.

Another employee said previous hackathons had been enjoyable but no longer fit alongside the team’s regular workload. Some staff also questioned whether participation would count in performance reviews, a concern that can turn a supposedly fun event into one more career calculation.

The complaints arrived after Meta’s May 20 restructuring, which eliminated about 10% of the company’s workforce and moved thousands of remaining employees into AI-related assignments. Reuters reported that the overhaul affected about 20% of Meta’s workforce when layoffs and transfers were counted together.

That backdrop matters. A hackathon works best when employees have time, trust and enough breathing room to take a creative swing. When those things are in short supply, even prizes and team events can feel like office confetti at a fire drill.

Zuckerberg Says Meta Has Made Mistakes

In a memo reported by Reuters on June 12, Zuckerberg acknowledged that Meta’s AI transformation has not gone smoothly.

“Given the complexity of these changes, we’ve made mistakes and will almost certainly make more,” he wrote.

Zuckerberg said Meta was focused on providing as much stability as possible and did not expect additional companywide layoffs during the rest of 2026. Still, he added a caveat: “I don’t want to overpromise because the world is changing in ways that are out of our control.”

The company is also reportedly considering more permanent desks in some offices and increasing budgets for team offsites and events. Those steps appear aimed at repairing some of the everyday workplace friction created by hot-desking, reassignments and a leaner staff.

The AI Jobs That Don’t Feel Like a Promotion

The hackathon backlash came as some employees reassigned into Meta’s AI operations described their new work in far darker terms.

Wired reported that one employee called the new unit “literally the gulag,” while another said many workers found the work “soul-crushing.” Those are employees’ descriptions, not Meta’s characterization, and they reflect frustration with tasks such as helping evaluate and improve AI systems after moving away from more traditional software development work.

At an Instagram-wide meeting, Meta Chief Product Officer Chris Cox reportedly described the recent months as “difficult” and “brutal,” according to a recording. He compared the experience to “running a marathon in the middle of a hailstorm.”

That may be the real issue behind the hackathon response. Zuckerberg is offering a chance to build something new. Some employees say they are still trying to keep what already exists from falling apart.