Former Meta AI researcher says there is a culture of fear in the company that is spreading like cancer

Talent can’t fix a broken culture.
That’s the warning from Tijmen Blankevoort, a former Meta AI researcher who left the company this week after penning a blistering internal email. In his exit memo, Blankevoort compared the internal dysfunction at Meta’s AI division to “metastatic cancer,” citing confusion, low morale, and fear-driven management practices.

Despite Meta’s aggressive expansion into artificial general intelligence (AGI), with billion-dollar hires and a new Superintelligence Labs unit, Blankevoort’s critique paints a grim picture behind the scenes.

“We Are in a Culture of Fear”

Blankevoort, who worked on Meta’s LLaMA models, accused the company of creating a workplace defined by:

• Constant performance reviews
• Waves of layoffs
• Lack of mission clarity
• Internal conflicts

“Most do not enjoy being here. And they don’t even know what our mission is,” he wrote.
“It’s not just dysfunction—it’s a metastatic cancer that is affecting the entire organisation.”

His memo highlights how pressure to compete with OpenAI and Google DeepMind has led to an internal environment where innovation is stifled and employees feel aimless.

Superintelligence vs. Internal Disillusionment

Meta has been hiring aggressively to build AGI capabilities, most recently poaching top names like Ruoming Pang from Apple, Yuanzhi Li from OpenAI, and Anton Bakhtin from Google. These moves support CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s long-term vision to lead the future of AI.

But Blankevoort’s comments question whether Meta’s leadership has the organizational clarity and culture to match its technical ambitions.

The 2,000-person AI team, he claims, is “suffering from a lack of direction,” even as it expands. The newly launched Superintelligence Labs—tasked with developing a smarter version of Meta AI—may inherit these cultural issues if they remain unaddressed.

Growing Tensions in AI Talent Wars

Meta’s hiring spree hasn’t gone unnoticed. OpenAI’s Chief Scientist Mark Chen likened Meta’s recruitment tactics to “breaking into our home and stealing something,” while CEO Sam Altman claimed Meta offered $100 million signing bonuses to lure top researchers.

Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth has pushed back, saying such offers are “rare” and only extended to strategic leadership hires.

Still, Meta’s image as an AI powerhouse is being tested—not by a lack of talent, but by the erosion of internal trust and purpose.

Culture Still Matters

Blankevoort’s departure serves as a sharp reminder that no amount of top-tier talent can overcome a toxic workplace. His memo has reportedly triggered internal reflection at Meta, though leadership has yet to respond publicly.

In an industry racing toward AGI, culture may prove to be the ultimate differentiator—and a critical fault line.

Actionable Takeaways:

• Watch how Meta addresses internal morale amid high-stakes AI development.
• Track the effectiveness of Superintelligence Labs beyond talent hires.
• Observe how company culture influences retention in the AI arms race.