Many employees fired from Meta are now turning to LinkedIn to share their stories. Facebook’s parent company laid off 11,000 employees last year and will cut another 10,000 jobs in a second round of layoffs. One of these employees announced that she was released on maternity leave after spending three days at the company.
Sarah Schneider, who was part of the talent acquisition and recruitment team, said she spent three great years at Meta that came with so many memories, including working with the best team and great people.
“Unfortunately, due to Meta’s brutal layoffs, my maternity leave at Meta was cut short. I spent 3 amazing years at a company that has so many memories and worked with the best team and great people. These layoffs were not based on merit because so many high-performing employees were laid off. I am honored to have spent time on the recruiting and software development team,” he wrote on LinkedIn.
On Meta, Schneider moved three times, found the love of his life, got married, and had his first baby. “During my time at Meta, I passed so many important milestones in life! I’ve moved three times, found the love of my life, moved in together, got engaged, married, got pregnant, and had our first baby!
He went on to describe the suffering he experienced during the birth process.
“During labor, I had a near-fatal postpartum hemorrhage 8 hours postpartum. I lost over 5 liters of blood in my 50s with massive blood clots and blood pressure,” said the former Meta employee.
“Even though it was so traumatic, I knew I was alive for a reason. It gave me the perspective that I had a purpose and that the hills and valleys of life were temporary. I vowed that if I came out alive, I wouldn’t break a sweat too much, and I was grateful for everything around me. But now I don’t only have to think about myself, but also about my son Lucas. I’m going to do this for him so that he has a better life than me,” she added.
Another Meta employee, Andi Allen, who was laid off while on maternity leave, asked, “Did Mark Zuckerberg take a pay cut?” He worked as a senior technical recruiter.
Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is preparing for more layoffs as it prioritizes projects and investments. CEO Mark Zuckerberg emphasized the need for efficiency, calling 2023 the “Year of Efficiency” during a recent conference call.
The company had started a “flattening” process in which some middle managers were eliminated and others placed in separate employee roles rather than overseeing other employees.
The pandemic led to a significant increase in demand for Meta digital services, resulting in a 30% increase in headcount in 2020 and a further increase of 23% in 2021. However, the company experienced a decline in advertising revenue, which led to its first full-year sales decline in 2022
