If you wondered what it might be like to be laid off from a giant tech company like Meta, now you can hear it in song. And the chorus goes like this:
Meta layoff, Meta layoff
Say it like a joke
Meta layoff, Meta layoff
House of cards went broke
Those were the lyrics to an artificial intelligence-generated song that one Meta employee created shortly before the company, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, laid off 8,000 workers on Wednesday — 10 percent of its work force — as it transforms itself into an A.I.-first firm.
As the ax fell, some employees traded somber messages with each other. Others reacted on internal forums with salad emojis, their way to say “salute” to one another. And for at least one employee, music was the answer.
The worker used Meta’s own A.I. tools to create an internal radio station that plays A.I.-generated songs about the job cuts, according to internal posts and recordings of the songs that were obtained by The New York Times, as well as interviews with about a dozen employees. The employee announced the station, called “520 FM” — a sendup of the May 20 date for the layoffs — in an internal post using language that mimicked the institutional voice of Meta’s human resources department.
“We realize many of you are experiencing elevated anxiety,” wrote the worker, whom other employees declined to name for fear of retaliation. “To support you through this transition, we’ve launched an A.I.-native initiative: Meta 520 FM — a 24/7 internal radio station featuring original curated anthems alongside multiple genres to support your diverse coping preferences.”
The radio station plays A.I.-generated songs in the style of hip-hop, country, rock and even metal, according to the post.
“Meta Layoff,” which had the tongue-in-cheek chorus marrying joke, broke and layoff, laid down an easy-listening guitar lick with a finger-snapping rhythm, set to the voice of an R&B vocalist.
Another track was a Lo-Fi acoustic guitar song called “Missing the People,” with references to missing “the faces” and “late night jokes” of colleagues in the office.
“Big Beautiful Layoff,” a song in the “Rap” section, starts off more bluntly:
“HR Zoom call
Screen frozen on the smile.”
Meta declined to comment, but some employees were more vocal. They said the radio station was a welcome distraction and added that the creator appeared to really support them.
“Stay strong. Stay tuned. Stay focused on what you can control,” the employee’s internal post said.
Audio production by Patricia Sulbarán.
Mike Isaac is The Times’s Silicon Valley correspondent, based in San Francisco. He covers the world’s most consequential tech companies, and how they shape culture both online and offline.
The post Soundtrack to 8,000 Job Cuts: A Meta Worker’s Layoff-Themed A.I. Songs appeared first on New York Times.
