Meta’s “year of efficiency” saw the company part ways with 20,000 employees (human beings) this past week. Ironically, Meta was rewarded with a stock value surge of 200%! It also included a $50 billion share buyback plan: a focus on shareholder value by reducing share count. And potentially raising the value of remaining shares.
This same week saw Congress grill CEO Mark Zuckerberg and four other executives in a hearing titled “Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis.” And public apologies but to what avail?
Meta helps us question traditional corporate growth and efficiency. The company unveiled a 22% cut in its workforce while achieving a 25% revenue increase.
This decision boosted its net income to $14 billion, a 203% jump from the previous year. Pushing its valuation over $160 billion with a post-tax net profit margin of 35%. Now, Meta, surpasses tech giants like Google, Apple, and Microsoft in the race to the top.
But in essence, this is more of a company adopting mechanistic business models. Further distancing from human-centric values. It presents us with the opportunity to question the nature of success. This situation does not stem from AI taking over jobs but from poor leadership choices at the cost of people’s lives.
Beyond A Year of Efficiency: A Matter of Values
This raises the question of alternative allocations for the $50 billion. Meta could have opted to maintain its 20,000 team members or earmarked the funds for future buybacks. The focus on share price uplift comes with a significant human toll, urging us to become aware of the imbalance between corporate efficiency and human wellbeing.
These headlines of success capture a widespread sentiment currently: Employment continues its focus on surviving shareholder value (efficiency+ productivity+ growth), not thriving.
For the brilliant humans recently let go, could this be an opportunity to breath and consider launching healthy ventures? History suggests so. As our trust in giants to safeguard our wellbeing and health wanes, the foundation of how we build our lives gains prominence. We need fewer apologies and a stronger embrace of humane values. No one will do it for us.
Gaining wisdom requires experience. We cannot simply order wisdom from Amazon or place our trust in alogrithms. It goes beyond efficiency. And is driven by our humanity and a focus on choosing the courageous path of creation.
Related: The Heart of True Genius