Meta’s internal culture has come under sharp criticism following a powerful exit email from former AI researcher Tijmen Blankevoort, who compared the company’s environment to “metastatic cancer.” In a message shared internally and reviewed by The Information, Blankevoort described a toxic and fear-driven culture within Meta’s AI division, exacerbated by constant performance reviews, mass layoffs, and a lack of mission clarity.

Blankevoort, who worked on the company’s LLaMA models, claimed that the AI team now numbering over 2,000 people lacks purpose and suffers from repeated internal conflicts. “We are in a culture of fear,” he wrote, warning that innovation is being stifled and employee morale is dangerously low. He emphasized that many workers feel lost and disconnected from the company’s broader vision, especially amid Meta’s aggressive hiring spree to compete with OpenAI and Google DeepMind.

Meta recently launched a new unit, Superintelligence Labs, with a goal to build artificial general intelligence (AGI). The team has recruited industry leaders, including Ruoming Pang from Apple, and researchers from OpenAI and Anthropic. However, this expansion has drawn criticism from rivals, with OpenAI accusing Meta of using massive signing bonuses up to $100 million to poach talent.

Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth denied widespread use of such payouts, stating they were rare and restricted to key leadership roles. Nonetheless, Blankevoort’s exit letter suggests that even high salaries and star hires can’t fix a deteriorating work environment.

His statement has triggered introspection within Meta, highlighting how organizational culture when ignored can undercut even the most ambitious innovation efforts. With the tech giant positioning itself at the forefront of next-gen AI, internal stability may prove just as critical as technological advancement.