Meta CTO Tells Workers to Use AI Productivity Gains for More Work, Not Time Off

Meta CTO says employees should use AI productivity gains to do more work, calls request for extra days off "very dumb"

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. Facepalm: Should workers be allowed more time off because of AI increasing their productivity? It's a contentious issue, but we shouldn't be surprised to learn Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth's view. He thinks employees should use their freed-up time to do even more work. He also got quite salty when an employee asked about bringing back Meta's canceled holiday program, calling the question "very dumb." Bosworth gave his Victorian workhouse-style opinion on what employees should do with their free time from AI-related productivity gains at a July Q&A, reports Business Insider. One employee asked if skyrocketing productivity meant Meta could revive Meta Days, a canceled holiday program that allowed workers a few extra days off. Bosworth's reply was the kind one would expect from a tech executive. "Stop asking about Meta Days. It's very dumb," he said, appearing to show some restraint by not having the person flogged and fired on the spot for their impudence. Bosworth then gave his suggestion for what Meta's workers should be doing with their free time, other than worrying they'll join the thousands of others the company has laid off recently. "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 exec said, according to three people on the call. Bosworth then seemed to adopt a lead-by-example stance. "I get an extra hour. You know what I do with it? I put it into that." Big Zuckerberg is watching you, employees Seemingly frothing at the mouth at this point, Bosworth doubled down and asked employees what their parents would think of them for daring to ask for more time off from a company that, at one point, was spying on its employees to train the AI that could replace them. "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. Ask your parents what they think of that as a career strategy," he asked, possibly expecting everyone to hang their heads in shame. This is likely the point that Bosworth realized the optics of asking if workers' parents would be ashamed of them for requesting more time off, even if AI has enabled it. He apologized for coming down "too hard" on the employee, before adding that he felt the question was "tongue-in-cheek," which sounds like the real-world equivalent of adding "jk" at the end of an insulting online message. Meta, of course, has cut 10,000 to 11,000 jobs across the last 12 months, while its AI-driven capital spending over the previous four quarters has reached $92.43 billion, all of which suggest that employees having more time off is pretty low on its priority list. As with curing cancer, we're still waiting for AI to increase productivity to the point where we all work four-hour days. OpenAI boss Sam Altman recently said this will never happen because we all love working so much. Speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience last year, Senator Bernie Sanders said that the extra time that workers save through the use of AI tools should be given back to them - not filled with extra tasks. It seems Bosworth does not share the same view.

Meta's CTO told employees to stop asking for more time off and use AI gains to build "cooler stuff" instead

Meta CTO Bosworth told employees AI gains should go into more work, not more time off. Called the Meta Days vacation question "very dumb." Meta cut 8,000 jobs this year while spending $135B on AI. Meta's chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth told employees at a July Q&A that AI productivity gains should be used to build more products, not to take more time off. An employee had asked whether the gains could be channelled into reviving "Meta Days," a cancelled holiday programme that gave staff a few extra days off. Bosworth's answer was blunt: "Stop asking about Meta Days. It's very dumb." "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," Bosworth said, according to three people on the call. "I get an extra hour. You know what I do with it? I put it into that." He told the employee to ask their parents what they would think of using every chance to talk to a boss to request more days off. He later said he was sorry for coming down "too hard" and acknowledged the question may have been "tongue-in-cheek." The comments land in a specific context. Meta cut 8,000 jobs in May while spending up to $135 billion on AI infrastructure this year. The company replaced its cancelled Meta Days with two "choice days" and provides four weeks off plus public holidays. Bosworth himself stands to earn up to $921 million from a stock option programme tied to Meta reaching a $9 trillion valuation by 2031. The message to employees is that AI makes them more productive, the company keeps the productivity, and the reward is the privilege of building more. The broader debate is whether AI productivity gains belong to workers or employers. Jeff Bezos has said he expects AI to let households return to a single earner. Morgan Stanley predicted AI would help millions take on second and third jobs. Bosworth's position is the employer's version: more output, same hours, no extra days. At a company that cut 10% of its workforce this year, told survivors to train their AI replacements, and installed keystroke-tracking software on employee laptops, the answer to "can we have more time off?" was always going to be no. Bosworth just said it out loud.

Meta chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth says AI productivity gains should now mean we're all doing more work -- not taking time off

* Meta CTO hits out at employees asking for time off due to increased AI productivity * Andrew Bosworth says workers should be building more with their extra time * Bosworth also says employees asking for extra vacation time are "very dumb" The CTO of Meta has told his employees that the increase in productivity offered by AI tools and platforms should now mean they are free - to do more work. In a heated internal Q&A reported by Business Insider, Andrew Bosworth told Meta workers supercharged by AI improvements that they should be getting more work done and building more products for the company. "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," Bosworth said. "We got billions of people using our products every day. I get an extra hour. You know what I do with it? I put it into that." "Ask your parents what they think of that as a career strategy" Bosworth's ire was apparently piqued by a request from one Meta employee around whether the productivity gains from using AI could be part of more time off. This specifically concerned "Meta Days", a cancelled internal company initiative which allowed workers to apply for more vacation time. Bosworth reportedly told the employee who asked the question to, "stop asking about Meta Days. It's very dumb." "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. Ask your parents what they think of that as a career strategy," Bosworth said. Meta has yet to comment on Bosworth's comments, but Business Insider notes the company offers employees four weeks of holiday per year, plus two "choice days" which can be used whenever wanted. Bosworth did appear to walk back on his comments, apologizing for coming down "too hard" on the employee asking about Meta Days - but then bizarrely added he felt the question was "tongue-in-cheek". The conversation is the latest from a significant tech figure concerning AI and the effect it has on human workloads, with the debate continuing to echo about how much technology is really helping workers. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently raised eyebrows by saying the reason that AI hasn't yet resulted in less work and more leisure time is that we all just love working too much. Altman revealed that he doesn't expect a change in society or working practices for quite some time, despite widespread promises that AI would boost our productivity and efficiency across the board. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.

Meta Exec Rages Against Employees Asking for More Time Off Because AI Made Them More Efficient

Can't-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech 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.

A Meta Employee Asked for More Time Off. CTO Andrew Bosworth Called the Question 'Very Dumb'

Meta chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth all but rolled his eyes when an employee asked if AI productivity gains should be parlayed into a revival of Meta Days, a defunct company program that rewarded workers with a few extra days of paid time off. "Stop asking about Meta Days," Bosworth snapped during a recent Q&A with employees, Business Insider reported on Friday. "It's very dumb." Instead of thinking about kicking back, he said, Meta staff members should focus on kicking in even more work. Otherwise they might find themselves joining the 8,000 employees who were let go in May in a cost-cutting move that coincided with the company's $135 billion commitment to AI investment. "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," Bosworth said on the call, according to three sources. "We got billions of people using our products every day. I get an extra hour -- you know what I do with that? I put it into that."

Meta CTO Rejects Extra Vacation Days Despite AI Productivity Gains - Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)

Meta CTO Rejects AI-Driven Vacation Boost, Tells Staff to 'Do More' Instead Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth reportedly pushed back on employee requests for more paid time off tied to artificial intelligence (AI) productivity gains. Bosworth Shuts Down 'Meta Days' Revival Bosworth argued that extra time should be spent building products, not resting. "I get an extra hour. You know what I do with it? I put it into that," he said, according to Business Insider. He added that employees should ask their parents "what they think" about seeking more time off as a career strategy. Meta did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comment. His stance echoes OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who last week said AI is unlikely to bring a shorter workweek, since people always find new goals once productivity rises. Stock Performance Meta has a market capitalization of $1.51 trillion. Its 52-week high is $796.25, while its 52-week low is $520.26. The large-cap stock is down 8.97% so far this year. Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings indicate that META stock has a negative price trend across all time frames. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

Meta CTO's AI Rule: More Productivity, Less Time Off

Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth says AI productivity gains should help employees do more work, rather than taking extra holidays. He made the comments during a Meta employee Q&A in July 2026. An employee asked if AI could save time and give workers more vacation days. Bosworth said the saved time should instead help Meta build more products for its billions of users. Bosworth shared his view while discussing how AI could change work at Meta. "I hope that what we do with our extra time is do even more and cooler stuff for the users," he said. He also added, "I get an extra hour. You know what I do with it? I put it into that." The employee also asked if could bring back its old Meta Days program. The program had allowed workers to take two extra days off whenever they wanted. Meta later ended the program and changed its leave system. Bosworth also reacted strongly to the question during the discussion. He called the request a poor career strategy before apologizing for his sharp response. He later said the employee likely meant the question as a joke. The comments come as Meta pushes AI tools across its workforce. The company wants employees to use the technology more often for daily tasks and product development. Meta also continues to spend billions on AI systems, , and data centers. Bosworth's comments add to a growing debate about and working hours. Some leaders believe AI should help companies produce more. Others expect AI to give workers more free time. The disagreement raises a simple question: Will AI make work easier, or will it simply create more work?

Meta CTO: AI Gains Should Lead to More Work

Bosworth made the comments during a recent town hall with Meta employees after being asked whether higher productivity from AI could eventually mean more vacation time. His response reflects Meta's approach to using AI to improve employee productivity and output. Bosworth said he expects employees to use any extra time created by AI to build more products for Meta users. "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. We got billions of people using our products every day. I get an extra hour. You know what I do with it? I put it into that," he said. An employee also asked Bosworth about Meta Days, an internal program that allowed workers to take two additional days off whenever they wanted. The programme was later discontinued and replaced with Meta's current leave policy, which provides employees with four weeks of paid time off each year, excluding public holidays. Bosworth also told the employee to ask their parents what they would think about repeatedly asking a boss for more days off whenever they had the opportunity He later apologized for coming down 'too hard' on the employee and said he believed the question was 'tongue-in-cheek'.