Meta fires 24 employees for frequently misusing meal benefit credits

Meta has reportedly fired about 24 employees from its Los Angeles office over the inappropriate use of credits provided as meal allowances in the office, with some employees allegedly using the credits to purchase everyday items.

Meta fires staff for abusing $25 meal credits
https://www.ft.com/content/7d1a2738-2518-4ddb-811b-8abf9a745590

Meta fires staffers for using $25 meal credits on household goods - Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/10/meta-fires-staffers-for-using-25-meal-credits-on-household-goods/

Meta fires staff for 'using free meal vouchers to buy household goods' | Meta | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/oct/17/meta-fires-staff-free-meal-vouchers-buy-household-goods

Meta offers free meals to employees working in its Silicon Valley headquarters, and employees in smaller offices without cafeterias are given free credits for services like Uber Eats, with $20 credits for breakfast and $25 each for lunch and dinner.

According to the Financial Times, the fired employees were determined to have abused the meal credit system over a long period of time, with some employees using office credits to have meals delivered to their homes or using the credits to buy household items other than food, such as acne pads, wine glasses and laundry detergent.

According to a post on the anonymous messaging platform Blind, a former Meta employee used the $25 credit to buy toothpaste, tea, and other items. The employee claims to have earned about $400,000 a year and worked nights and weekends, and was surprised when he was fired unexpectedly after admitting to the violations during an investigation by HR.

A Meta representative said, 'Those who only occasionally violated company rules were disciplined, but not fired.' It appears that the 24 employees who were fired were deemed to have engaged in repeated violations over a long period of time, which was deemed to be malicious.

Meta's move reflects a tightening of corporate attitudes towards employee welfare, and is part of similar moves being made by other major tech companies. According to the British daily newspaper The Guardian, Google has taken measures such as offering fitness classes and reducing the frequency of laptop replacements, and has also changed the way it provides office supplies, with staplers and tape now borrowed from the reception desk.

Meta had recently made cuts to its WhatsApp, Instagram and VR divisions, as well as its Reality Lab, in an effort to restructure the company.

Meta cuts jobs at Instagram, WhatsApp and Reality Labs divisions - GIGAZINE