Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, has expressed his desire to see companies embrace more “masculine energy” in their corporate culture. In an interview with Joe Rogan, a Donald Trump supporter, the Facebook founder lamented that corporations have become “culturally emasculated” and advocated for more celebrating aggressiveness in the business environment.
“Masculine energy, I think is good. And obviously society has a lot of that, but I think corporate culture is really trying to get away from it. All of these forms of energy are good, and I think having a culture that celebrates a little more aggression has its own merits, which are really positive.
Beyond the clichés of sexism and simplifications, the head of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp announced a very concrete measure: he ended the internal diversity policy in human resources, known in the United States as DEI, for diversity, equity and inclusion .
“The term ‘DEI’ has also become loaded, in part because some understand it as a practice that suggests preferential treatment toward certain groups over others,” Meta explained in an internal memo published by The New York Times and the news site Axios. He also justifies his decision with a change in the “legal landscape,” a specific reference to a US Supreme Court decision against affirmative action policy in universities.
“It’s one thing to say we want to be welcoming and create a good environment for everyone, and I think it’s another thing to basically say ‘masculinity is bad,’” he added. Later in the episode, Zuckerberg credited martial arts with helping him redefine his relationship with masculinity, telling Rogan that spending time with his friends while they “beat each other up” has been a “positive experience.”
By abandoning the fact-checkers and relax its “Hateful Conduct” policy, Meta has made clear the future it wants for its platforms.
Unsurprisingly, these statements have generated controversy, especially in the context of recent changes in Meta policies. The company has relaxed its content moderation rules on Instagram and Facebook, allowing greater leniency toward users who criticize immigrants and transgender people, or who make exclusionary statements based on sex or gender.
Additionally, Meta has announced the end of third-party fact-checking in the United States and has halted internal efforts aimed at diversifying its workforce.
Meta plans to cut 5% of its workforce, focusing on lower-performing employees
Mark Zuckerberg told employees that he “decided to raise the bar on performance management” and act quickly to “eliminate underperforming employees,” according to an internal memo. Meta’s CEO wrote in a post on Workplace, the company’s internal forum, that the company would make “more extensive performance-based cuts” during this year’s performance review cycle.
Zuckerberg said affected employees in the US would be notified on February 10, and said the company would “refill” the positions later in 2025. The company, which employs about 72,000 people globally, did not say how. They would distribute the cuts around the world.
“This is going to be an intense year, and I want to make sure we have the best people on our teams,” he wrote. “I have decided to raise the bar in performance management and move underperforming employees faster.”
The move comes after other big decisions by Zuckerberg, including ending the company’s fact-checking and diversity programs.
The last major cuts at Meta occurred in 2023, when the company eliminated about 10,000 positions as part of a cost-cutting initiative, after Mr. Zuckerberg declared it the “year of efficiency.” In 2022, the company cut approximately 11,000 roles. Zuckerberg also appears to be reshaping his own public image.
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