Meta shock — Musk mayhem — Crypto nosedive

Hi, I'm Matt Turner, the editor in chief of business at Insider. Welcome back to Insider Weekly, a roundup of some of our top stories.

On the agenda today:

• Meta employees are shell-shocked and angry after Mark Zuckerberg's layoffs.
• The rise and spectacular fall of the crypto kingpin Sam Bankman-Fried.
• Goldman Sachs just dropped its exclusive partner list. 
• Elon Musk's master plan for Twitter is taking shape.

But first: Our incredible reporters and editors are staying on top of all these stories. Sign up for these newsletters to get the latest developments, right in your inbox:

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• Find out what's going on in the markets and crypto with our weekday newsletter 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.

And now, let's get to today's stories.

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Shock and anger at Meta

Meta let go of 11,000 employees this week, the first mass layoff in the company's 18-year history. And it's not clear which divisions and roles were most affected — even to thousands of shell-shocked employees who remain at Facebook's parent company.

Many employees told us they were shocked by the scale of layoffs, even if they'd been expecting some headcount reduction. "Going above 10,000 was definitely more than I had in mind," one spared employee told us, "and more than people had in mind."

Here are the questions lingering for Meta employees.

For more on the Meta layoffs:

• Zuckerberg's giant middle finger to Wall Street backfired
• Zuckerberg apologized for overinvesting in Meta: 'I got this wrong'
• Tech CEOs all made the same mistake. Now employees are paying the price with massive layoffs.

How a crypto kingpin went down

Just last week, Sam Bankman-Fried was a 30-year-old with a crypto exchange called FTX that was valued at $32 billion, a trading firm called Alameda Research, and a $15.6 billion fortune. But suddenly, 94% of his wealth was wiped out, FTX announced it was filing for bankruptcy, and Bankman-Fried stepped down as CEO. 

The spectacular collapse is likely to lead to more pain and result in a permanent scar on the face of the crypto industry. How did SBF and FTX get here? Our reporter Matthew Fox breaks it down.

Inside the spectacular nosedive.

Goldman Sachs introduced its newest partners

Goldman Sachs promoted 80 people to partner this week, marking the largest class since David Solomon took over as CEO in 2018.

Outside of Goldman's C-suite, partner is the company's highest title. They get several special privileges, including a salary of about $1 million, access to a special bonus pool, and an opportunity to invest in fee-free investment funds. 

See who just got the call of a lifetime.

Elon Musk's master plan

There is no shortage of mayhem at Twitter. The new paid-for checkmark system has created a Wild West of scamming and parody, Musk is asking employees to convince the engineers he laid off to come back, and the "official" badges for some accounts have been re-rolled out. 

However, beneath all of the chaos, social media expert Matt Navarra says Musk is taking steps toward his goal of turning Twitter into a "super-app."

How Musk's plan is taking shape.

This week's quote:

"If I stayed working in corporate America, I probably could climb up the ladder. But the higher you climb up the ladder, the more you work. Whereas with e-commerce, the more you work now, the less you'll work in the future."

• Shan Shan Fu, 34, on how she started a successful e-commerce business.

More of this week's top reads:

• Hurricane Sandy transformed the Jersey Shore into "a playground for the rich."
• The smartest job candidates use these three questions to nail an interview.
• It's looking more likely that any recession next year would be shallow and manageable.
• Google is quietly working on a wearable device for preteens.
• Power users on LinkedIn and TikTok are trying to be "workfluencers," and it's pissing people off.
• A man with ALS who can't use his hands got a brain implant. It could be a game-changer.
• "We are on the highway to climate hell." A dispatch from COP27.
• 14 TV insiders rank the streamers where they want to sell shows now.

Plus: Keep updated with the latest business news throughout your weekdays by checking out The Refresh from Insider, a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom. Listen here tomorrow.

Curated by Matt Turner. Edited by Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, and Lisa Ryan. Sign up for more Insider newsletters here.