It would have been just another Sunday afternoon but for that newsflash on the Wall Street Journal. Meta would be doing massive layoffs as early as Wednesday. I felt a knot in my stomach. Rumours of mass layoffs had been going around as far back as the summer, fuelled by stock price crash, but then they were just that…rumours, or so we presumed. We had never imagined there indeed would be such a day. Frantic exchange of text messages and calls ensued. The news had already become widely circulated. The sense of unease and anxiety was palpable in everyone’s voice.
Over the next few days, productivity at work hit zero as everybody waited waiting anxiously for the company’s word. Another leak at the WSJ confirmed the day, along with one more update—all roles/functions would be impacted, while business and other functions like recruiting would be hit the hardest. The evening of Tuesday was the most nerve-wracking. The US midterms were on, but I had eyes only for my inbox. I finally fell asleep around midnight; however, I woke up at 3.10 am. There it was, Zuck’s mail informing us about the layoffs.
Thanks to all the noise that had been created over the recent days, that mail was expected, but then nothing had prepared us for the sheer scale. Around 11,000 employees, or roughly 13 per cent of the company’s workforce, were being laid off. I could not sleep after that. The wait was now for the axe to fall on, or spare, me. After refreshing my inbox yet another time, I played Wordle, something that I had never done till then, scrolled Twitter for election updates and did some other sundry stuff—the mind finds its own ways to numb itself against shock.
The email finally arrived around 6 am. I had been spared. My first reaction was that of immense relief. But that did not last long. Many of my friends and colleagues had been struck. We were asked to work from home that day. It was Wednesday. Zuck was scheduled to have a video call with all employees at 11 am. When he appeared, he looked like he had been crying for hours. In a sombre voice, he essentially repeated the contents of the email and explained the reason for taking such a drastic decision. I was, and I am sure all were, lost.
I spent the rest of the day trying to find out if my friends were safe. Many had lost their jobs. How could one possibly have a word of consolation at such times? These are all talented and smart people. Though the severance package is generous, this layoff has come as a blow to everyone, but the situation is especially delicate for those on a work visa. They get 60 days to find a job. If they can’t find it, they must go back.
It will take several days, probably even weeks or months, for things to get back to normal. Even then, the shadow of this “bloodbath” will stay with everyone at Meta and beyond. There are questions around the long-term health of the tech industry as a whole.
