UK staff at Facebook owner Meta feel “concerned” and “let down” about the company’s decision to scrap factcheckers and diversity, equity and inclusion programmes, the trade union representing UK tech workers has warned the firm.
The Prospect union, which represents a growing number of UK Meta employees, has written to Meta to express staff concern about the impact of the controversial decisions by chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg.
“Staff of many years’ service at Meta have highlighted how incredibly let down they feel by their employer’s change of tone,” wrote Prospect assistant secretary Andrew Sturtevant to Meta.
He added: “Our members are concerned over Meta’s future direction and the potential impact of policy changes on employees and on the company’s reputation.”
In a letter addressed to Lizzie Runham, Meta’s HR director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Sturtevant warned the company it may struggle to hire and keep staff in light of recent announcements.
It comes as Meta, which also owns WhatsApp and Instagram, is planning to cut about 5% of its global workforce, with its poorest-performing employees most likely to leave. The move could affect about 3,600 employees globally amid a shake-up to Meta’s performance management system, as it plans to “move out low-performers faster”.
UK employees “believe that Meta’s ability to attract and retain talent in the UK, and to thrive as an inclusive business, will be severely impacted” by its change of approach, Sturtevant wrote in the letter.
Meta employed 6,338 people in the UK at the end of 2023, according to the most recent accounts for Facebook UK, after cutting more than 700 roles.
Prospect is seeking assurances from Meta that staff members with protected characteristics, especially those from the LGBTQ+ community, will not be disadvantaged by the company’s policy changes, and is calling on the company to engage with the union.
The union is also asking Meta to reassure staff with protected characteristics that “they will not find themselves arbitrarily placed in a performance process, and that they can have confidence that Meta will be a safe and inclusive place to pursue their careers”.
Workers are also afraid that changes to moderation guidelines announced earlier this month, which include the scrapping of third-party factcheckers, and moves to include more political content on Meta’s platforms could mean they have to engage with “more content that is demeaning and ridiculing in nature, and that this will create a hostile working environment for them”, the letter added.
Employees have told the union that Meta’s previous code of conduct and other company policies “intended to create a respectful, meritorious workplace and a culture” that had driven the success of Meta and was “shared by staff and shareholders”.
Citing the government’s employment rights bill, which is making its way through parliament and will oblige employers to protect their workers from sexual harassment, the union has asked Meta to explain what “level of consultation and risk assessment” was carried out to ensure that staff with protected characteristics would be not be adversely affected.
The union’s letter came just days after Zuckerberg appeared on the popular podcast hosted by Joe Rogan, where the 40-year-old billionaire shared his view that workplaces require more “masculine energy”.
Meta has been contacted for comment.
