Meta employees took to public forums to criticize management after the latest round of layoffs. On February 10, the Facebook parent company carried out the cuts based on performance reviews.

In an internal memo sent out in January, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he planned to lay off about 3,600 positions – equivalent to 5% of the workforce. However, many affected people said they had never been on the list of underperforming employees before.

“The hardest part is that Meta openly says they cut low performers, so it feels like we have a ‘criminal mark’ on our backs,” an anonymous employee told Business Insider. “People need to know that we’re not underperforming.”

Meta declined to comment on this.

Meta layoff exhibit
About 3,600 Meta employees lost their jobs in the latest round of layoffs. Photo: exhibit.tech

On Blind, an anonymous forum for verified employees, often in the tech industry, people say an “unseasonable chill” is sweeping Silicon Valley. In addition to accusations of Meta abusing the “failure to perform” label, some also claim they were fired while on leave.

“I consistently outperformed expectations for years, had a baby in 2024, and then got fired,” one former employee wrote. Dozens of people with “clean” or above-expected histories who were on maternity or sick leave lost their jobs, according to comments on Blind.

Another employee, who is on six months of maternity leave, said she had never received a performance review and was seeking legal advice. Another called the cuts “cruel” and said some were relegated to the lowest ranks while on sick leave.

“They seem to care more about money than efficiency. Be careful when joining this company. Zuck does not care about his employees, only the company,” they wrote.

“Meta is the most ruthless tech company out there,” wrote one Meta employee. One Amazon employee said Meta only wants young, family-less employees who focus on nothing but making money.

After a long time living in paradise, tech workers are facing a harsh reality that their jobs are no longer safe. Layoffs, working from offices, ending remote work, cutting back on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and openly supporting US President Donald Trump… are the changes taking place in Silicon Valley.

Meta's culture – once synonymous with CEO Sheryl Sandberg and “feminine” iconography – turned a page when Zuckerberg declared businesses needed more “masculine energy.”

One Microsoft employee said his friend at Meta was told to “find someone” to fire even if everyone was doing a good job or excelling. This year’s round of layoffs, he said, was about taking power back from employees by bringing back fear.

“It’s so sad. I don’t know who to trust right now,” said one Meta employee. Others shared that they knew someone with five years of good ratings who was also fired, accusing managers of abusing the system to fire people they didn’t like.

(According to Fortune)