Meta Fires 20 Employees For Leaking Confidential Information

Meta has dismissed around 20 employees for leaking internal information, reinforcing its stance against unauthorized disclosures.

The Verge first reported the terminations, which come amid heightened scrutiny over leaks revealing unannounced product plans and internal meetings.

“We tell employees when they join the company, and we offer periodic reminders, that it is against our policies to leak internal information, no matter the intent,” Meta spokesperson Dave Arnold told The Verge. “

We recently conducted an investigation that resulted in roughly 20 employees being terminated for sharing confidential information outside the company, and we expect there will be more. We take this seriously, and will continue to take action when we identify leaks,” he added.

The company has increased efforts to track leaks following reports about CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s recent all-hands meeting. After details from the meeting surfaced in the press, Meta issued warnings, and CTO Andrew Bosworth later told employees that the company was making progress in identifying leakers, The Verge reported.

“There’s a funny thing that’s happening with these leaks,” Bosworth said during an internal meeting in early February, as noted by The Verge. “When things leak, I think a lot of times people think, ‘Ah, okay, this is leaked, therefore it’ll put pressure on us to change things.’ The opposite is more likely.”

A prior meeting with Bosworth was also leaked. He later discussed the matter in an internal open group called Let’s Fix Meta, stating, “As predicted, the entirety of today’s Q&A leaked. It sounds like someone just gave the entire audio feed to a journalist,” as reported by The Economic Times.

Meta did not specify what information was leaked, who the employees were, or where the details were shared. However, the move comes during a period of internal unrest.

The company’s crackdown suggests that further terminations could follow as its internal investigation continues. Employee morale has reportedly declined following Zuckerberg’s policy changes, including adjustments to content moderation, the dissolution of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.

Additionally, Meta recently cut 3,600 jobs, citing performance issues, but some affected employees say they had no history of underperformance. Others claim they were let go while on parental or medical leave.

The Economic Times argues that Meta’s recent terminations align with a broader wave of layoffs across major tech companies. Google, for instance, cut fewer than 100 jobs in its cloud division, mainly in sales operations.

Additionally, the Alphabet-owned company introduced a voluntary exit program for U.S. employees in its Platforms & Devices division.