--- title: "Meta Exec Rages Against Employees Asking for More Time Off Because AI Made Them More Efficient" description: "Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth has cracked the whip and is willing to berate the company's workers for asking for more time off." date: "2026-08-10" modified: "2026-08-10" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/meta-exec-rages-against-employees-more-time-off-ai" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Ethics" - "Meta" --- # Meta Exec Rages Against Employees Asking for More Time Off Because AI Made Them More Efficient ![Andrew Bosworth, Chief Technology Officer of Meta, speaks during Meta Connect event at Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, California.]() *JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)* Even as they promise AI will supercharge productivity, tech leaders are sending a clear message: any efficiency gains won't help individual workers. During a podcast appearance last month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman [said that he doesn't "expect AI" to lead to a shorter four-hour work week](). He argued that workers are "secretly" going to be "happy" about being "much busier" and working even harder thanks to AI — a bizarre and out-of-touch comment from a billionaire with extraordinary power over the lives of working people. Now, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth has similarly cracked the whip, as [*Business Insider* reports]() — and he's even willing to berate the company's workers for asking for more time off. During a July Q&A with staff, Bosworth shut down an employee who asked if AI productivity gains could be used to revive "Meta Days," a cancelled holiday program that once allowed staff to take more days off a year. Bosworth was apparently appalled at the idea, saying that "I hope that what we do with our extra time is do even more and cooler stuff for the users who use our products every day." The thinly-veiled implication at a tech giant that's been rocked by [repeated rounds of brutal layoffs](): [you should be so happy]() to [still be employed]()! "We got billions of people using our products every day," he added. "I get an extra hour. You know what I do with it? I put it into that." The executive then dug his heels even further, personally insulting the staffer for asking about work-life balance. "Go to your parents and ask them: hey, like every time I get a chance to talk to my boss, ask me if I can have more days off," he said, per *BI*. "Ask your parents what they think of that as a career strategy." It's a harrowing reaction, highlighting not just how AI is leading to [widespread burnout](), but just how grim the working environment at Meta has become as of late. The Mark Zuckerberg-led company fired around [8,000 employees]() earlier this year as its attempts to catch up to the competition in the AI space [continue to sputter](). In June, Zuckerberg [acknowledged plummeting morale]() among workers, while [offering underwhelming ideas]() to lift their spirits. Taking time off has become a massive point of contention, with a [lawsuit filed last month]() accusing Meta of [using AI tools to tag workers]() who had taken time off for maternity leave or disability accommodation, in order to lay them off later. After his tirade, Bosworth appeared to have had a moment of clarity. He apologized for coming down "too hard" on the employee, per *BI*, while trying to brush off his abrasive commentary as "tongue-in-cheek." But the damage was already done. Bosworth's crashout once again highlights how precarious the situation for knowledge workers has become. Any productivity gains from AI are unlikely to lead to any meaningful improvements in the quality of life for them, even as they're already struggling to stay employed. Besides, as managers are [finding out the hard way](), those productivity gains appear to be far more elusive than company leaders led us to believe. **More on Meta:** [*Sam Altman Says Even the Power of AI Will Never Lead to a Shorter Work Week*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()