Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan’s philanthropic organization laid off dozens of employees Wednesday in an ostensible restructuring.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), which was founded and is led by the couple, laid off 48 employees, a spokesperson told Business Insider. CZI sent hundreds of millions of dollars, dubbed “Zuckbucks,” to an organization called the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL), which used the funds to help administer elections in 2020 in largely Democratic districts in multiple states, which critics argued was an attempt to boost turnout.
A CZI employee on the widely-used tech worker app Blind described the situation as a “bloodbath,” according to Business Insider. The layoffs are aimed at reorganizing CZI’s approach to philanthropic grants and financing education advancement, according to The 74 Million.
A spokeswoman for CZI confirmed the details of The 74 Million’s reporting in a statement to Business Insider.
“Guided by insights from our grantees, research, and educators, our work in education continues to evolve, and the structure of our teams has changed as a result,” she added. (RELATED: ‘What To Watch For’: Zuckerberg Funded Education Program Advises Educators To Eavesdrop On Critical Parents)
✨ Big News ✨We’re launching a new research hub in Chicago. #CZBiohubCHI will bring together scientists + engineers at @UChicago, @NorthwesternU & @UofIllinois to build new tech + gain insights into how inflammation impacts our cells pic.twitter.com/74KdUObang
— Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (@ChanZuckerberg) March 2, 2023
Left-wing billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Foundations also recently announced plans to lay off 40% of their worldwide employees, according to The Associated Press. It is the nonprofit organization’s second significant staff reduction in three years.
The CTCL obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in funding from Zuckerberg and Chan in 2020 “to promote safe and reliable voting.” CTCL spent the money on assisting the likely Democratic districts in enlisting additional poll workers, adding more ballot drop boxes and expanding mail-in vote processing.
CZI did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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