Meta Employees Are Scrambling to Use Up Benefits Ahead of Layoffs

Employees at Meta are leaving offices, abandoning work, and using up benefits ahead of planned layoffs. Workers are rushing to spend an annual $2,000 flexible benefit for health and wellness expenses. A separate $200 triennial credit for audio gear is prompting purchases such as Apple AirPods and other headphones. Offices are reported as largely empty, with some employees polishing résumés and gathering offsite with friends. Meta plans to lay off about 10% of its nearly 80,000 employees, with notices sent at 4am via personal and corporate email. CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the company must free cash to invest in AI data centers and can perform with fewer employees due to AI augmenting labor. Previous layoffs since 2022 have already affected morale, and the timing amid AI job anxiety is drawing scrutiny.

"Ahead of Meta's latest round of mass layoffs tomorrow, some employees are deserting offices, abandoning their work, and loading up on perks they might soon lose, several people at the company tell WIRED. Two employees describe a widespread rush to use up an annual $2,000 flexible benefit, which can cover a variety of expenses including health and wellness activities. A separate triennial credit of $200 toward the purchase of audio gear has led to a scramble to purchase Apple AirPods and other headphones."

"Another source says Meta offices have been largely empty this week, as people prioritize polishing their résumés and gather offsite to commiserate with friends for what may be their final time as colleagues. Employees are variously "paralyzed," "coasting," and "panicked," sources say. Meta plans to lay off about 10 percent of its nearly 80,000 employees on Wednesday, with notices going out to affected workers' personal and corporate email addresses at 4am in their local time zone, according to a company-wide memo sent on Monday."

"Meta plans to lay off about 10 percent of its nearly 80,000 employees on Wednesday, with notices going out to affected workers' personal and corporate email addresses at 4am in their local time zone, according to a company-wide memo sent on Monday. The cuts are coming at a time when the social media giant behind Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook is enjoying record-high profits. But CEO Mark Zuckerberg insists that the company must free up cash to invest in AI data centers, and that Meta can perform just as well with fewer employees because of AI technologies that augment human labor."

"Meta didn't immediately respond to a request for comment for this story. The company has undergone three previous large rounds of layoffs since 2022, including as part of Meta's one-time " year of efficiency" drive in 2023. But even though the latest round is smaller than a couple of those, it is drawing widespread scrutiny because it comes at a time of societal anxiety about AI's impact on jobs. Inside Meta, the imminent cuts are among several concerns that have sunk morale to unprecedented depths, according to 16 current and former employees who recen"

Read at WIRED