Meta’s Dealing With a Leadership Shake-Up as Talent Losses Grow

Published on: Jul 27, 2025

SAN FRANCISCO – Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is dealing with a leadership shake-up during one of its most challenging periods yet. Once a leader in tech innovation, Meta now contends with serious internal problems as many executives leave and widespread layoffs stir unrest.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s push towards artificial intelligence and the metaverse has amplified these concerns, especially with ongoing uncertainty about Meta’s long-term direction. This article looks at what triggered these issues at Meta, why leaders are leaving, what needs fixing, and why stronger leadership matters for the company’s future.

Over the last few months, Meta has lost several top executives and leading experts, either to competitors or due to frustration within the company. Ruoming Pang, who joined Meta in 2025 to work on advanced AI after leaving Apple, departed soon after, which highlighted instability at the highest level.

Meanwhile, Zuckerberg has offered sky-high compensation, including deals up to $200 million over four years, to attract experts in artificial intelligence. Retaining this talent, however, has proven difficult, with Meta facing criticism from companies like OpenAI for aggressively recruiting from rivals.

Longtime Leaders Leaving Meta

Meta’s losses include longtime leaders who contributed to its growth. Many have walked away because of burnout, differences over company strategy, or more attractive jobs elsewhere. Culture at Meta, once admired for collaboration and openness, has suffered as company priorities have shifted dramatically—from social networks, to new metaverse projects, to now a focus on AI. As a result, some managers find it hard to see how their work connects to Meta’s bigger picture, and confidence in the company’s direction has dwindled.

Layoffs have added to these worries. In 2025, Meta cut about 5% of its total staff—around 3,600 people—in what Zuckerberg called a move to “remove low performers faster” in a difficult year. Unlike cuts in 2022 and 2023, which were described as efforts to boost efficiency, the latest layoffs targeted staff based on performance reviews.

This upset many, as highly rated workers found themselves out of a job and shared positive records on platforms like LinkedIn, pointing to an unfair process. One former employee told The HR Digest, “I was shocked to learn I was let go. My work’s always been strong and there was never a warning.”

Guidance that encouraged managers to include high performers in layoffs to meet targets only worsened the sense of unfairness. When staff used platforms like LinkedIn and the company’s own Workplace forum to air their concerns, what could have been an internal restructure quickly became a public ordeal. This has exposed deeper cracks in how leadership handles decisions that shape the company’s future.

Why Key People Are Leaving Meta

Meta’s leadership exits come from several connected problems. First, the constant shift toward AI and the metaverse has left many with a sense of losing the company’s original purpose. While Zuckerberg is determined to succeed in new tech areas, some long-term employees joined for Meta’s focus on connecting people, not experimental tech. The Reality Labs division, responsible for the metaverse, continues to lose billions each year, adding to doubts about direction.

The strategy of luring outside AI talent with huge pay packages has also caused friction. Senior staff who have been with Meta for years see new hires brought in with far higher pay. This has created resentment and led some to feel overlooked, especially when reports surfaced about offers approaching a billion dollars. The approach risks losing solid leaders who feel squeezed out by new arrivals.

Along with discontent over pay and shifting priorities, stress and burnout are major concerns. Four in ten tech leaders now consider stepping down because pressure is so high, according to DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast 2025. Meta, already working with a flat hierarchy, asks managers to handle ever larger teams and broader goals. With rising costs, slowing ad growth, and big expectations around AI, the toll on leaders is growing.

Finally, the way Meta has handled layoffs and performance management has hurt morale. The 2025 cuts, called a “masterclass in leadership failure” by business coach Dominic Monkhouse, have left employees doubting leadership’s ability to be fair and open. Managers who felt unable to address performance issues before cuts now see themselves and others caught between unclear expectations and hasty decisions.

What Needs to Improve

Meta will need to make bold changes to weather this storm and regain employee trust. The road ahead requires several key actions:

Clarify the Company Vision
Meta needs to explain its direction more clearly. Employees need to see how their work fits into both the company’s history and its new tech ambitions. Regular updates and open communication from leaders, not just formal memos, can help everyone feel connected to future goals.
Develop Strong Leadership
The company should invest more in training and growing its managers. Programmes that teach communication, flexibility, and decision-making will be helpful—especially as teams become more diverse and remote. Practical exercises like role-playing can prepare managers to lead teams through difficult times and quick changes.
Build a Culture of Honest Feedback
Meta’s leadership has often praised straightforward feedback, but this must be consistent. Managers need to check in with teams more regularly, talking about clear goals and giving real-time feedback, instead of only relying on big annual reviews. Open feedback can address issues early and avoid sweeping layoffs.
Fix Pay Gaps
Rewarding outside experts is important to stay competitive, but existing leaders also deserve fair treatment. Making pay and career paths more transparent can help prevent frustration and limit staff churn.
Adopt Broader Leadership Principles
Meta could benefit from teaching leaders to take a wider view and connect with teams across the company. Approaches that focus on self-awareness and emotional intelligence can encourage better teamwork and trust, both inside Meta and with partners outside the company.

Strong Leadership Makes the Difference

Meta’s future depends heavily on whether it can rebuild strong, inspired leaders. Research from Korn Ferry shows that companies with adaptable, inclusive leaders perform better when technology and markets are shifting. At Meta, leaders who boost morale and support their teams will be key as the business races to keep up in AI.

Good leadership will also help stem the tide of staff turnover. Many companies find their leadership programs are not matched to business goals, leaving a gap that hurts growth. By choosing, developing, and supporting managers who motivate teams and handle change well, Meta can limit the damage from layoffs and regain employee trust.

Handling public crises well also comes from good leadership. The mishandling of this year’s layoffs at Meta showed again how poor communication can cause lasting damage. Other firms, like Tesla, have used new tools to track how the public reacts in real time and respond quickly, helping them recover faster. Meta’s leaders need to learn from these examples to better handle the spotlight and criticism.

Finally, strong managers will be needed as the company pushes towards AI-driven operations. Zuckerberg has hinted at using AI to replace many mid-level engineers, so Meta will need leaders who can manage this shift while still valuing people and human ideas. Balancing efficiency with creativity could help Meta hold its place ahead of rivals like OpenAI.

A Turning Point for Meta

Meta faces a tough fork in the road. Talent loss, unpopular cuts, and uncertainty over direction all threaten its ability to reach bold goals in AI and the metaverse. To turn things around, Meta must make its vision clearer, improve leadership, be open about its decisions, and address old frustrations around pay and recognition. Without these changes, the company risks falling behind or losing more top talent.

Mark Zuckerberg has called 2025 an “intense year” for Meta. Whether the company bounces back or continues to struggle will rely on finding and keeping managers who can inspire, adapt, and get results. Meta could return to being a leader in tech innovation if it learns from its current mistakes and builds a stronger culture. If not, Meta could become a warning sign for other tech firms facing the same issues.

For the latest on Meta’s leadership, check updates from The HR Digest or track layoff trends at sites like layoffs. Fyi.