Meta and Twitter layoffs are a hot topic as thousands lose their jobs at both companies. While Zuckerberg’s Meta is facing issues with its investors, Elon’s Twitter problem is more of something that he invited upon himself.
Facebook, now Meta, also decided to lay off over 11,000 employees yesterday. While both companies have offered a handsome severance, thousands of jobless people are still in panic. Former Twitter, as well as Facebook employees, have taken to Twitter amidst this unexpected turn of events to express their thoughts. Some were on medical leave, others on work visas, and all the assistance and severance didn’t seem to compensate for the same.
Ex-employees from Twitter and Meta also took to LinkedIn to share their experiences, and their posts show how layoffs affect a multitude of people. There are some who instantly landed new jobs or already had jobs. And then there are some who relocated to work for their dream company just to get laid off. Here are 10 posts on Twitter and Meta layoffs that’ll show you the employee side of the story.
10 posts you should read about Twitter & Meta layoffs
Let’s start with Alex Leavitt’s tweet about getting laid off from Meta. They were on a research project, and the layoff seems to have ended up on a neutral note for them. They posted about flying to Japan and kept posting updates in the same thread
Coming to our second tweet, Zach mentions how he had “mixed feelings” about joining Facebook. He’s among the few Facebook employees who refuse to call it Meta. He has more than 11 years of experience in the field and is now looking for a job, actively posting about it on his Twitter handle, like countless others.
Matt Motyl has done notable work in the field of political and social psychology. His LinkedIn bio says that Matt was working with the Civic integrity team at Facebook, and according to the tweet above, he also got the axe when Meta fired 11,000 employees. Matt was on medical leave at the time, but since it is a mass layoff, many replies to his tweets suggest it was within Facebook’s rights to fire him.
This next tweet is also relevant to the loss of jobs. Lisa Bloom, an attorney, advises people against signing anything during the layoff process. She also claims that multiple Twitter employees have reached out to her, intending to file a class-action lawsuit against Elon Musk.
Darshan isn’t affected by the current wave of layoffs, but he has been there. This tweet should be out there to remind people to be good at what they do, irrespective of who they do it for. Creating a personal brand is as important as being a good employee in today’s time. It can lend you the leverage you need to get better opportunities and make a name for yourself.
Allesandra is another employee who lost her job at Meta. The above tweet is part of a thread where she has talked about reaching out to laid-off people as a friend. Compensation aside, not having a job to look forward to is a difficult thing. Opportunities are great, but a listening ear is needed at times like this.
This one is a particularly sensitive post. Himanshu’s post went viral on LinkedIn and has mustered close to 500 comments at the time of writing this story. He relocated to Canada to join Meta and got axed just two days later.
The ugly side to this story is that Meta seems to have blindly cut people across the board. Someone who joined the company just two days ago, and that too after relocating for the job, had to have been excluded from the process. Nobody knows what’s happening inside the bag of cats called Meta, and that’s why we’ve come to this.
But on the other hand, there are recruiters that are helping those who lost their jobs. Layoffs are particularly tricky for people on work visas, so this effort deserves a place on the list.
The last post on this list comes from inside Meta. Those who are still at the company are trying to help the ones who lost their job. With nobody at fault, there’s a good talent pool out there from top social media companies waiting to get recruited or start something of their own.
The many faces of Meta & Twitter layoffs
I started this list with the idea of highlighting what the people at the receiving end of the Meta and Twitter layoff situation feel like. However, as I gathered more posts, the matter started peeling into layers like an onion. People are pouring their hearts out on the internet, trying to land a job, help those who lost one, find the root cause of this situation, and guide people out of it.
Even parody posts have shot up. The above tweet might look like a layoff one to most, but it is actually satire. I learned this after I reached out to the person who tweeted this.
MIT Technology Review published a story where a Twitter employee elaborates on how the platform is going down one step at a time. There are also reports of Twitter’s top-brass resigning after a meeting with Elon Musk and being advised to take whistleblower protection. Meta’s situation also seems to be spiraling out of hand for now.
However, as we look ahead into the future, we have to consider that Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg built a massive empire out of data when nobody thought of it. Elon Musk, whether you agree or disagree with him, is the richest person in the world, and you have to do something right to get there. So given time, we might see developments at both Meta and Twitter that make these companies profitable in the future.
What do you think about it? Do share your views in the comments.
