Welcome to the AI job apocalypse, Big Tech edition.

Reports from inside Meta paint a picture of an increasingly brutal work environment as the company pivots hard into AI. Employees describe a culture of fear — constant reorganizations, shifting priorities, and the ever-present sense that your role might be automated out of existence by the very product you're building. Some are taking extended mental health leave. Others are white-knuckling it through, wondering if each quarterly review will be their last.

Look, we're not going to pretend that pulling down a $250K-plus total comp package while having access to world-class office amenities makes you a coal miner. But there's something deeply telling about a company so flush with cash that it can't — or won't — maintain a work environment where people aren't having breakdowns.

This is what happens when a company treats its workforce as an expendable input in a race for AI dominance. Zuckerberg's "year of efficiency" wasn't a one-time reset — it became the permanent culture. Lean headcounts, maximal output, constant existential dread. It's less a workplace and more a pressure cooker with free kombucha.

The broader Bay Area workforce should be paying attention. If Meta — a company swimming in revenue — treats its employees like disposable components, imagine what mid-tier companies will do as AI tools mature. The playbook is clear: hire fewer people, squeeze them harder, replace them when the tech catches up.

Here's the uncomfortable fiscal reality nobody in Sacramento or City Hall wants to address: San Francisco's tax base is heavily dependent on these tech workers and their companies. When employees burn out, leave the industry, or get laid off, the downstream effects hit city revenue, local businesses, and housing demand. The city has spent years building a budget around the assumption that tech money flows forever. Mental health crises at major employers aren't just HR problems — they're fiscal warning signs.

The best thing these workers can do? What any liberty-minded person would advise: don't wait for the corporation to save you. Update the resume. Build leverage. Always be ready to walk. Because Meta certainly isn't crying for you.