[amarkov]

It's not obvious that they would have won. Zuckerberg hasn't actually forced ads into WhatsApp yet, and WhatsApp remains ad-free today. He just (allegedly, according to anonymous sources) is suggesting that WhatsApp leadership should do it.

[fjsolwmv]

Then what's the problem? They don't like their co-workers so they quit their job. Unless Facebook staffers were effectively creating a hostile environment specifically to lusb out the WA guys to claw back their unvested equity. Which frankly seems compatible with Zuck's style, even if it's more of his buddy Zynga-CEO's trademark style.