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Journalism of Courage
2024 started on a rough note for many professionals in the IT sector and has been marred by rampant layoffs. So far, as many as 157 companies have laid off around 40,000 employees in two months. While there has been an assortment of reasons given to justify these job cuts, none sounded reasonable enough adding to more woes. Now, it seems Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg may have answers to the ongoing spate of layoffs in the tech industry.
Zuckerberg said that companies are now realising that although layoffs are painful, there are some benefits to being ‘leaner’. The 39-year-old was speaking in an interview with Morning Brew’s Daily Podcast. During the conversation, Zuckerberg said that a majority of the companies were still adjusting to the post-pandemic era. The CEO also spoke about AI’s impact on jobs and Sam Altman’s ambitions $7 trillion chip venture to fuel AI developments.
He went on to discuss the recent layoffs in the tech industry and Meta. He said that most of the layoffs were due to companies overbuilding during the pandemic as e-commerce surged. He said that when things went back to normal, companies realised that they were overstaffed and had to cut jobs.
AI and job cuts
When asked if AI will take away jobs and impact the job market, he said that when it came to Meta’s layoffs, AI was not a major driver for those decisions. He said that he believes other tech companies may have reorganised to invest more in AI, but that wasn’t the main factor for Meta.
According to him, some companies are now going through a phase of thinking about becoming more efficient and lean to do the best work possible. He admitted that this thinking led to Meta’s layoffs last year.
Overall, the Meta CEO argued the pandemic and overhiring initially followed by a push for efficiency drove the bulk of recent tech layoffs. He doesn’t attribute them heavily to increased AI investment or other strategic factors. Although he acknowledged, that AI may have played a small role in layoffs at some companies, he largely believes overbuilding during the pandemic and subsequent rightsizing was the primary driver across the tech industry.
On Sam Altman
In the interview, Zuckerberg also shared his views on OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and his bid to raise $7 trillion to build the semiconductor infrastructure needed to power AI systems. Zuckerberg called Altman thoughtful and earnest and lauded his ambitions in the AI space, however, he said the number is ‘astronomical’. The Meta chief said that Altman’s vision has been helpful for progress in the space overall.
Talking about the massive investment in chips, Zuckerberg said since companies keep building large training clusters of computers to power cutting-edge AI models and hence, at some point, the immense chip production capacity would become crucial. He acknowledged that expanding chips to continue improving AI may require unbelievable investment like what Altman suggests. He essentially said Altman may be proven right in the long run.
Through the conversation, Zuckerberg touched upon Meta’s future products and his approach to leadership. He spoke about the need to stay competitive, focusing on open access, and enabling social connection through technology. Zuckerberg also went on to explain his hands-on management style and why he remains optimistic despite criticism.
