Meta Accused of Unfair Layoffs, Including Workers On Parental Leave

Meta’s recent wave of layoffs has sparked outrage among employees, with many accusing CEO Mark Zuckerberg of running the “cruelest tech company out there,” as first reported by Fortune.

The latest job cuts, which Meta framed as performance-based, have led to claims that some workers were unfairly labeled as low performers, including those on parental or medical leave.

The layoffs are part of Zuckerberg’s plan to cut around 3,600 jobs, roughly 5% of the workforce. In a memo last month, he justified the move as targeting underperformers, as first reported by Bloomberg. However, affected employees are pushing back, claiming they had no history of poor performance.

“The hardest part is Meta publicly stating they’re cutting low performers, so it feels like we have the scarlet letter on our backs,” one former employee told Business Insider. “People need to know we’re not underperformers,” he added.

On Blind, an anonymous forum for verified employees, Meta workers described a tense and unpredictable work environment. Some alleged that they were let go while on approved leave, raising concerns about the fairness of the process.

“[I] consistently exceeded expectations multiple years, had a baby in 2024, got laid off,” another former employee wrote. Another, who had been on maternity leave for six months, said they had “no history of below average performance” and were now seeking legal advice.

Fortune notes that the layoffs reflect a broader shift in Silicon Valley, where job security is eroding, remote work policies are tightening, and diversity initiatives are being cut. Some employees believe the industry’s leaders are deliberately reshaping corporate culture to curb worker influence.

Zuckerberg called 2023 the “year of efficiency,” continuing job cuts that began in 2022. After eliminating 11,000 positions that year, the company laid off another 10,000 employees in 2023 as part of its ongoing restructuring efforts.

Despite the layoffs, Meta’s stock has surged 60% this year, surpassing market expectations. Reuters attributes this growth to strong digital ad revenue, which continues to fund the company’s AI investments.

Meta’s deep investments in AI suggest a similar trajectory. As AI becomes more capable, the justification for performance-based layoffs may shift toward full-scale automation.

While some tech leaders claim AI will enhance human productivity, others, like Siemiatkowski, suggest that many jobs may simply disappear. For employees at companies like Meta, this raises the question of whether efficiency-driven layoffs today are just the beginning of a more extensive AI-driven workforce reduction.

This shift has also fueled concerns over corporate motivations. Some analysts argue that promoting AI-driven job cuts is as much about financial positioning as it is about technological advancement.

Klarna, for instance, aggressively pushed its AI narrative following a steep valuation drop in 2022, leading to speculation that its automation efforts were as much about investor appeal as operational efficiency.

If Meta follows this path, employees may soon face an even more uncertain future, with AI efficiency serving as a new rationale for workforce reductions.