Tech giant Meta recently made headlines for firing approximately two dozen employees in Los Angeles for misusing the company's $25 meal vouchers. According to a report from The Financial Times, these employees were found to be using the food credit system to purchase non-food household items such as acne pads, wine glasses, and laundry detergent.
Meta provides its staff with daily allowances of $20 for breakfast, $25 for lunch, and another $25 for dinner, similar to perks offered by other large tech companies. The employees who were terminated had been taking advantage of the system for an extended period of time, sometimes pooling their funds together or having meals sent home instead of using them at the office as intended.
The FT cited a person familiar with the matter who mentioned that employees who had violated the food voucher rules had previously received reprimands but were not fired until now. The report also referenced a post on the anonymous messaging platform Blind, where a former Meta employee admitted to misusing the credits to buy groceries like toothpaste and tea at a pharmacy.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has been undergoing a period of restructuring in recent years, leading to layoffs and changes within the organization. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced significant layoffs in 2022 and 2023, attributing them to the company's overinvestment during the COVID-19 e-commerce surge.
Zuckerberg clarified that the layoffs were not due to advancements in artificial intelligence but rather a result of overbuilding during a time of increased demand. The CEO highlighted that many companies across various industries had faced similar challenges of overexpansion and subsequent financial strain.
As Meta continues to navigate these changes, the recent incident involving the misuse of meal vouchers serves as a reminder of the importance of upholding company policies and ethical conduct within the workplace.