Meta's latest round of layoffs, which impacted nearly 4,000 workers on Monday, has sparked controversy as several employees with strong performance records found themselves unexpectedly terminated.
Multiple affected employees reported receiving "At or Above Expectations" ratings in their mid-year reviews for 2024, only to be later downgraded to "Meets Most" - a lower performance tier that made them eligible for the recent cuts.
The layoffs were initially presented as targeting the bottom 5% of performers, according to internal guidance shared with managers in January. However, managers were later permitted to include employees from higher performance tiers if they couldn't meet reduction targets from lower-rated staff alone.
"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 terminated employee said.
Some workers expressed frustration over the public framing of the cuts as targeting consistently low performers. Internal communications revealed cases of employees with years of meeting or exceeding expectations suddenly being downgraded without explanation.
One employee who posted on Meta's internal platform showed documentation of consistently strong performance over four years before an unexpected downgrade in late 2024. Another reported being cut shortly after returning from parental leave, despite positive ratings earlier in the year.
The sudden nature of the terminations contradicted guidance given to employees. "We were told by leadership that if we would be impacted by this then we would already be expecting it," a former employee explained. "But I was completely blindsided by this. My manager had been telling me that I have been doing great."
These cuts align with CEO Mark Zuckerberg's push to streamline Meta's workforce while the company invests heavily in artificial intelligence and virtual reality. The layoffs may become an annual event as Meta continues to reshape its workforce.
Affected employees now worry about the professional implications of being labeled as "low performers" in their future job searches, despite their track records suggesting otherwise.