Meta laid off about 4,000 employees on Monday in a performance-based job chopping spree — however a number of impacted staffers claimed that they had obtained glowing suggestions from their managers simply final 12 months, based on a report.
Zuckerberg revealed the layoffs — which slashed Meta’s workforce by 5% — in January, telling staffers he “decided to raise the bar on performance management,” taking a extra “hardcore” method to removing low performers, like fellow tech billionaire Elon Musk at his corporations.
Some affected workers stated the firings got here as complete whiplash, since simply final 12 months that they had obtained “At or Above Expectations” rankings throughout their annual assessment — the middle-tier in Meta’s mid-year assessment system, based on Enterprise Insider.
“We were told by leadership that if we would be impacted by this, then we would already be expecting it, based on conversations our managers should have been having with us in our weekly one-on-ones,” an impacted worker instructed Enterprise Insider.
“But I was completely blindsided by this,” the worker continued. “My manager had been telling me that I have been doing great and did not provide any areas to be worked on. My manager even said that I would be fine and not impacted.”
Meta didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
A number of impacted workers stated they have been excessive performers final 12 months, and have been shocked to seek out their rankings had been downgraded to “Meets Most,” a decrease tier within the system, simply in time for Monday’s job cuts.
“When I received the email I was surprised by it mostly because I have a very solid performance history and no indicators of the last six months of performance problems,” one laid-off worker instructed BI.
One Meta staffer, who stated they have been “unexpectedly” fired, posted paperwork to Meta’s inner discussion board, Office, exhibiting that they had persistently met or exceeded expectations for 4 years earlier than a sudden downgrade to “Meets Most” in late 2024, based on BI.
One other impacted worker stated that they had obtained an “At or Above Expectations” score in early 2024, however have been immediately let go on Monday shortly after getting back from parental depart, based on the report.
“I am super confused how I got terminated,” the worker wrote on Office. “I still think this is an error.”
Final month, Zuckerberg emphasised his need to behave shortly to “move out low-performers.”
However inner steerage permitted Meta’s managers to incorporate workers from greater efficiency tiers within the job cuts if they may not meet their discount targets with low performers alone, based on BI.
Some workers shared issues that the sudden efficiency downgrade and their public label as “low performers” by Zuckerberg may damage their profession.
“The hardest part is Meta publicly stating they’re cutting low performers, so it feels like we have the scarlet letter on our backs,” an impacted worker instructed BI. “People need to know we’re not underperformers.”
One worker griped that they have been dropped two efficiency rankings from their mid-year assessment in 2024, and weren’t given any suggestions from their supervisor.
“I would certainly challenge Meta’s narrative about cutting only low performers,” one other laid-off employee instructed the outlet. “I have a really, really difficult time believing I was a low performer based on past feedback I was given by my manager.”
