'scarlet Letter On Our Backs': Meta Says Its Job Cuts Targeted 'low Performers,' But Some Terminated Workers Have A 'solid' Track Record

Meta began layoffs for U.S. workers astatine 5 a.m. PT connected Monday, letting workers cognize if they were still employed via emails. The business cuts affected 5% of Meta's 72,000-person world workforce, aliases astir 3,600 employees, and were framed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg arsenic a measurement to move retired debased performers astatine nan company.

However, a caller study from Business Insider recovered immoderate affected workers had a measurement grounds of precocious achievement, performing bully successful their 2024 midyear reviews earlier abruptly being downgraded to a small tier successful Meta's 2024 year-end capacity reappraisal system.

Business Insider interviewed 8 laid-off labor who told nan outlet that they received mid-level "At aliases Above Expectations" ratings connected their midyear 2024 assessments but were pushed down to "Meets Most," a lower-level rating, for their 2024 year-end capacity reviews. The small opinionated caused them to beryllium fired connected Monday.

Related: Meta Informs Staff that Layoffs Will Begin Monday Morning successful a Now-Leaked Internal Memo

Internal guidance sent to Meta managers successful January from Hillary Champion, Meta's caput of group betterment maturation programs, told managers to bring labour from higher capacity categories into small capacity tiers to meet targets. Managers had to guarantee that 12% to 15% of their squad was grouped successful nan "Meets Most" aliases beneath categories, making them eligible for layoffs.

Terminated labour pinch dependable histories of precocious capacity were shocked erstwhile they sewage nan email connected Monday.

"When I received nan email I was amazed by it mostly because I personification a very coagulated capacity history and nary indicators of nan past six months of capacity problems," a terminated Meta worker told BI.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Other laid-off labour posted their past capacity reports to Workplace, Meta's psyche platform, pinch 1 affected worker stating that they met aliases exceeded expectations for 4 years earlier being pushed down to "Meets Most" successful precocious 2024.

Another worker said they abruptly dropped 2 opinionated levels from "Exceeds Expectations" successful their midyear 2024 assessments to "Meets Most" for their 2024 year-end reappraisal without immoderate caput feedback astir why they had been downgraded.

Related: Meta Reminds Staff of Its Strict No-Leaks Policy — That Has Since Been Leaked to nan Press

These terminated labour mobility Meta's nationalist stance that nan layoffs only affected debased performers and opportunity that nan institution could harm nan reputations of affected labour arsenic they look for caller work.

"The hardest information is Meta publically stating they're cutting debased performers, truthful it feels for illustration we personification nan scarlet missive connected our backs," 1 affected worker told BI. "People petition to cognize we're not underperformers."

"Now group personification to spell backmost retired into nan business marketplace pinch a mentation that is incredibly unfair," different Meta worker antecedently told BI.