Facebook Cofounder Finds The Door

Given the documented-to-death problems with our economy, now’s not the best time for companies to show signs of weakness.  Unfortunately for Facebook, two key employees are leaving to start their own enterprise.

Dustin Moskowitz, one of Facebook’s cofounders, and Justin Rosenstein, a lead engineer, have moved on, according to Owen Thomas.  The pair haven’t yet appeared to make any comments, and the exact (or even vague) nature of their next project remains unknown.

The development is real, though, with Mark Zuckerberg stating, "Dustin has always had Facebook’s best interests at heart and will always be someone I turn to for advice."  And even if the friendly nature of those assertions is nice, the potential for trouble remains.

The value of the men is an obvious place to look at; a cofounder to whom a CEO will always turn for advice is someone most companies would want to keep around.  Rosenstein, for his part, is one of the first people Facebook managed to lure away from Google.

Then there’s the upcoming stock sale to consider.  The timing makes this look a bit like Moskowitz and Rosenstein would rather unload their shares and quit Facebook than hold onto most of them and stay with the company.

Ah, well.  The departures may at least give Facebook a tiny bit more time until it needs to find new offices again.