Meta's "non-regrettable attrition" makes banking layoffs look nice
Banks cutting low performers is a tale as old as time, but generally there's some tact to how they conduct those layoffs. In the world of Big Tech, Meta hasn't followed the blueprint.
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Mark Zuckerberg put out a memo to Meta staff earlier this week that the firm was cutting 5% of staff, or its "lowest performers." Zuckerberg also said the firm was aiming for 10% "non-regrettable attrition" within two years. In other words: staff who wouldn't be missed.
Reactions from Meta staff have been fervent. Employees on jobs forum Blind liken the culture at Meta to the "Hunger Games," where "minor changes are being hailed as major milestones" to create the illusion of high-performance. Another criticized Meta's approach, finding it unfair that "even if a team is giving a stellar output, there will always be a 'low performer'" at risk.
Not all Meta employees are so upset. One on Blind said the layoffs are "good... time to actually hold low performers accountable."
Banks aren't as publicly critical of their low performers, but their layoffs are far from nice. Late last year, for example, HSBC encouraged managers to reapply for their own jobs to determine if they were right for their role and survive a layoff. Due to overlap between divisions, this resulted in bankers essentially pitching their survival against one another.
Although Meta's layoffs lack lip service, its severance is far more gracious than banking. Laid off staff will reportedly receive ~16 weeks pay, plus two weeks for every year of service. Meta employees on Blind suggest that they will also receive their yearly bonus as well, and their stock pay will vest. In contrast, prior to its collapse, Credit Suisse paid just a flat two-weeks per year of service to its laid off employees.
Nonetheless, Meta's approach seems to be alienating the 'bar-raising' staff Zuckerberg wants to attract. Speaking at the Quant Strats 2024 conference in London, Man Group's co-head of front office engineering Barry Fitzgerald said that students who were previously applying to FAANG were instead applying to hedge funds, attributing the shift to the wave of layoffs in big tech last year. With Microsoft and Amazon already cutting staff in 2025 too, that shift may become permanent.
Meta declined an opportunity to comment.
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