As mass layoffs hit Meta, employees create radio station streaming AI music to cope with situation
Meta employees facing thousands of layoffs have reportedly found an unusual way to cope. An employee is said to have created an AI-generated radio station that plays songs about job cuts, workplace anxiety and awkward HR calls inside the company.
There is a gloomy atmosphere inside Meta right now. The company is laying off around 8,000 employees, triggering anxiety, uncertainty and fear among workers facing job cuts. But amid the chaos, some employees have reportedly turned to humour and music to cope with the situation. According to a New York Times report, a Meta employee used the company’s own artificial intelligence tools to create an internal radio station. This radio station streams AI-generated songs about the layoffs, workplace anxiety and the emotional mood inside the company.
The report suggests that Meta employees have been reacting to the layoffs in different ways. Some exchanged sombre messages internally, while others used salad emojis on company forums as a symbolic way to salute departing co-workers. One employee reportedly responded through music by launching a new internal radio station called “520 FM”. The name of the radio station is in reference to the May 20 layoff date, and was introduced to employees through a post written in a tone resembling Meta’s human resources announcements.
“We realize many of you are experiencing elevated anxiety,” the post reportedly said. It described the station as an “A.I.-native initiative” featuring “original curated anthems” across multiple genres to support employees through the transition.
The radio station reportedly included AI-generated songs spanning hip-hop, country, rock and metal. One song titled “Meta Layoff” featured lyrics such as: “Meta layoff, Meta layoff / Say it like a joke ... Meta layoff, Meta layoff / House of cards went broke.” Another track, “Missing the People”, reflected on missing “the faces” and “late night jokes” shared with colleagues in the office.
A third song, “Big Beautiful Layoff”, opened with the line: “H.R. Zoom call / Screen frozen on the smile.” According to the report, several employees described the station as a welcome distraction during a stressful period and said the creator appeared to genuinely want to support co-workers dealing with uncertainty.
Meta cutting thousands of jobs
The layoffs are part of a much broader restructuring underway inside Meta as the company pushes ahead with chief executive Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of turning Meta into an “AI-first” organisation. Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, cut roughly 10 per cent of its workforce this week while simultaneously reorganising teams around artificial intelligence initiatives.
Reports suggest Meta is not only cutting jobs but also shifting thousands of employees into new AI-focused teams and restructuring departments to prioritise AI products and infrastructure.
According to The Guardian, more than 7,000 employees are being reassigned internally, with some moved to AI cloud infrastructure projects and others joining teams working on internal AI agents. Earlier this year, Meta also reportedly transferred over 1,000 engineers to a data-labelling division called Applied AI, initially as a voluntary move and later as a mandatory reassignment for some workers.
Peter Hoose, Meta’s vice-president of production engineering, reportedly told employees in an internal message that the company’s infrastructure and products were “fundamentally changing” because of the rapid acceleration of AI development. The restructuring has also affected management roles, with some managers losing teams and moving into positions focused more on individual contributions.