Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly spoke out about his former lieutenant Sheryl Sandberg during his visit to Mar-a-Lago, blaming her for implementing controversial DEI initiatives at Facebook that “encouraged self-expression of employees at the workplace”.
Zuckerberg, who has drawn criticism for cozying up to the new administration, made the comment during a meeting with advisers to President-elect Donald Trump at his Florida retreat shortly after the Republican’s historic election victory in November, according to the New York Times. .
The Nov. 27 discussions — which also included Stephen Miller, who will take over as White House deputy chief of staff — covered a range of hot topics, such as the administration’s expected crackdown on immigration and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. , the Times reported.
Miller told Zuckerberg that the billionaire mogul had “an opportunity to help reform America, but it would be on Trump’s terms,” according to the Times.
The 40-year-old tech mogul was “receptive” and said he and his top executives at Meta “would do nothing to obstruct Trump’s agenda,” individuals familiar with the meeting told the Times.
Zuckerberg reportedly threw Sandberg under the bus for pushing the “comprehensive initiative” and said Meta would drop its DEI policies.
“[Zuckerberg] said the new guidelines and a series of layoffs constituted a reset and that more changes were coming,” the Times reported, citing a person with knowledge of the meeting.
Meta, Zuckerberg insisted, would focus “only on building technology products,” the Times reported.
After the meeting, Zuckerberg sent his top deputies to Mar-a-Lago to brief Trump transition officials about the planned changes to Meta, according to the Times report.
Zuckerberg, who donated $1 million to Trump’s inaugural fund, has created a wholesale shift in Meta in recent weeks after his meeting with Miller.
He laid off about 5% of its workforce, ended fact-checking and third-party censorship programs, and abandoned DEI initiatives.
Meta also named new board members, including pro-Trump UFC president Dana White, Stellantis chairman John Elkann and former Microsoft executive Charlie Songhurst.
The Post has sought comment from Meta, Trump’s transition team and Sandberg.
Sandberg, 54, served as Meta’s COO for 14 years, leading the development of the Facebook ad cheats that account for most of Meta’s revenue.
She shockingly resigned in 2022. At the time, she claimed she wanted to devote more energy to philanthropy, women’s advocacy and personal projects.
But reports suggested her departure stemmed from increased regulatory scrutiny of Meta’s business practices, as well as internal tensions over content moderation, political advertising and corporate culture changes.
While she did not publicly link her exit to these challenges, her influence within the company has reportedly waned as Zuckerberg shifted Meta’s focus to metaverse measures and cost-cutting.
A government official at the Treasury Department during the Clinton administration, Sandberg wrote the 2013 book “Lean in,” which encourages women to be more aggressive in climbing the corporate ladder.
Before Zuckerberg hired her to help run Facebook, Sandberg helped develop Google’s advertising program while working for the search engine.
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