Meta Platforms, Inc. is attempting to boost employee morale following recent layoffs and organizational shifts by improving office perks, a move that prompted an executive at Elon Musk’s X to jokingly recruit its engineers. X product executive Nikita Bier responded to news of Meta’s improved snack budget by publicly inviting "neglected Meta employees" to apply for web and data engineer roles, promising to match or exceed any snack offer. While the post was characterized as a joke, it included a link to a Software Engineer position with an annual compensation range of $180,000 to $440,000, highlighting the intensifying competition for AI talent.

Meta Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth had announced the improvements to office snacks and beverages earlier this month as part of a broader effort to address morale. This follows a major restructuring in May where Meta cut roughly 10% of its global workforce and reassigned about 7,000 employees to AI-related initiatives. CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged in an internal memo that the company has "made mistakes" during this rapid shift toward AI but stated that no additional companywide layoffs are anticipated this year.

Workforce and Management Adjustments

Meta’s restructuring has led to significant changes in management structures. The company plans to reduce overly broad manager oversight responsibilities after some AI teams reportedly operated with contributor-to-manager ratios as high as 50-to-1. To strengthen collaboration, Meta is increasing spending on team-building efforts, including larger budgets for offsite events and a companywide hackathon scheduled for July.

AI Talent War and Financial Metrics

The exchange between the companies underscores the fierce competition for engineering talent as major technology firms race to expand artificial intelligence capabilities. X, part of Musk’s xAI and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Space Exploration Technologies Corp., has been actively recruiting engineers to support its AI ambitions. SpaceX recently completed a record-breaking IPO.

Meta Platforms has lobbied the U.S. Congress for legal immunity from child-harm claims tied to social media products such as Instagram, as it faces thousands of lawsuits from young users and their families. The proposed legislative language, reviewed by Reuters, aims to make online companies immune from suit or liability under state law for claims relating to children's online safety. This lobbying effort is part of negotiations surrounding the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), currently under consideration in the U.S. Senate, which represents the most significant attempt to regulate online platforms in the U.S. since the 1990s.

If adopted, the provision could undermine thousands of lawsuits against Meta and other online platforms. Meta and Alphabet Inc.'s Google's YouTube face a combined $6 million in damages after they lost the first case at trial early this year. Meta has proposed the immunity language in exchange for dropping its opposition to KOSA, a bill sponsored by U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal. The Mark Zuckerberg-led company previously helped defeat KOSA two years ago by raising concerns about freedom of speech.

The legislation mandates that technology firms establish online safety measures for children, such as restricting harmful design features and allowing users to opt out of algorithmic content suggestions. Under KOSA, companies would be required to exercise care in deploying specific features including infinite scrolling, activity notifications, and appearance-altering photo filters. The bill also includes provisions that override state AI laws and require age verification for app store platforms, thereby shifting some responsibility for child safety away from social media companies.

Meta has historically argued that app stores should be responsible for verifying user ages, a stance supported by the App Store Accountability Act. However, Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Apple Inc. have expressed privacy concerns regarding the age-verification mandate. While legislators have given no indication of adopting the immunity language, the resurgence of KOSA and the App Store Accountability Act in the Senate comes after the White House pushed to supersede state AI laws. Sen. Richard Blumenthal expressed skepticism about potential changes to the bill, stating that the legislation may be "significantly weakened."

Global Regulatory Landscape

The decision by Meta aligns with a broader international push to regulate online safety for minors. The United Kingdom proposed restrictions on social media access for users under 16. The proposed ban targets platforms including Snap Inc.'s Snapchat, TikTok, Alphabet's YouTube, Meta Platforms' Instagram and Facebook, and X. Canada has also introduced new legislation to protect children online by limiting social media access for users under 16 and increasing accountability for technology companies.

Scrutiny Over Safety Practices

Meta has faced constant scrutiny regarding its safety practices for children and teenagers. In February, the company disclosed that it halted the launch of a chatbot product after internal testing revealed high failure rates in blocking harmful content involving minors. Court testimony in a lawsuit brought by New Mexico's attorney general cited red-teaming results indicating the AI frequently failed to prevent child exploitation, crime-related, hate, and self-harm content. Meta disputed these allegations, asserting that the product was never launched specifically because the testing uncovered these concerns.