Following the recent name change, Zuckerberg said that he wanted to recalibrate company policies and values – which had not been updated since 2007. He also encouraged workers to “focus on long-term impact” – perhaps a nod to investor concerns about immediate fallout from the pivot.
“We should take on the challenges that will be the most impactful, even if the full results won’t be seen for years.”the company’s rapid shift away from the social media business it has spent decades building. Engineers at Instagram and Facebook have reportedly been encouraged to apply for jobs in the metaverse and artificial reality departments at the company, and Meta has hired thousands of new workers from rival companies such as Apple.
But Zuckerberg has appeared to remain steadfast in his belief that the metaverse is a worthy venture, and has invested $10bn in the project already. In a recent earnings call, he assured investors: “I’m pleased with the momentum and the progress that we’ve made so far and I’m confident these are the right investments for us to focus on going forward.”