Meta Fires Employees for Abusing Meal Vouchers: Controversy Erupts Over Household Item Purchases

Meta’s crackdown on its own employees sparks backlash after dozens are fired for using food credits to buy non-food items like toothpaste and wine glasses.

At a glance:

  • Meta recently fired staff for abusing meal vouchers, which were meant to cover food but were used for household items such as toothpaste and laundry detergent.
  • The fired employees reportedly pooled vouchers, went over budget, or sent meals home instead of using the vouchers for office meals.
  • The firings come as Meta undergoes restructuring, with thousands of layoffs unrelated to the voucher misuse.

Tech giant Meta has come under scrutiny after it reportedly fired a number of employees for misusing the company’s meal voucher system, which provides daily credits for food purchases. Workers were given $20 for breakfast, $25 for lunch, and another $25 for dinner, intended to be spent on food from delivery services like Grubhub. However, the company discovered that some employees were using the credits to purchase non-food items like toothpaste, acne pads, and even wine glasses.

The controversy was first reported by The Financial Times and was later confirmed by posts on Blind, an anonymous workplace messaging app. One user claimed that more than 30 employees were fired for using the vouchers improperly, with some purchasing groceries at pharmacies like Rite Aid. Another user mentioned that while many were warned to stop the misuse, they were still fired three months later, even if they had ceased the behavior.

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One Meta employee who earned approximately $400,000 admitted to misusing the credits but said they were caught off guard by the sudden termination. “It was surreal,” the employee said, acknowledging that Meta’s human resources department had begun investigating the practice before their dismissal.

Some employees expressed frustration that the company had been lenient for some time, only reprimanding them for breaking the rules, but suddenly resorted to terminations. The incident has sparked debate about whether Meta’s actions were justified, especially in light of broader economic changes within the company.

Meta has been in the midst of a major restructuring, laying off over 21,000 employees in the past two years. These layoffs are part of what CEO Mark Zuckerberg has dubbed the “Year of Efficiency,” where the company is slimming down after overbuilding during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the misuse of meal vouchers has garnered significant attention, the company is also cutting jobs across several departments, including WhatsApp, Instagram, and its Reality Labs division. Former employees like Jane Manchun Wong, a software engineer who had worked at Meta for just over a year, were also affected by these broader layoffs.

Meta has yet to formally comment on the specifics of the voucher firings, but it’s clear that the company’s crackdown on the issue is stirring debate about workplace policies and the fairness of these terminations amid larger layoffs.