[robocat]

Surely it damages Meta - I can't see why they would do it. Investors might care - but there are specific channels for communicating with them and it isn't clear that they would believe the narrative.

Microsoft are doing the same thing, so I presume there's a reason for it.

[whatthedangit]

The flipside of labeling people let go as "poor performers" is that you make the people still on board look like "high performers" by contrast. This increases the social value of being an active Meta employee. In that way, you could see it as "brand building". Because they will pitch themselves as employing only "the best of the best" and this reputation can be used to recruit people who want to take the gamble of potentially benefitting from that.

By damaging the reputation of the people they lay off in order to improve their own reputation, it's almost a form of reputational theft. It's unethical but I can see why they are doing it.

If you take a job at Meta, try to understand that the company can and will screw you if it benefits them so be prepared to do the same in turn. Never forget that Meta is not a great company in the sense that it is technically excellent. What I mean by that is that their technical excellence is not a product of their culture but a necessity of operating at scale.

What makes Meta great is that it's one of the most ruthlessly managed companies in its class. It knows how to thrive in legal and ethical gray areas. This is the primary thing that its culture selects for and as a result it is a master at that art.

So use them like they use you and don't fall for their non-sense about being mission driven or making the world more open and connected. It's a fleet of pirate ships. Nothing more.

- t. resigned from Facebook twice in my career in order to work at "better" (by my standards) companies.

[gregd]

I really don't understand why it was necessary to publically mention why these folks were being laid off. Being laid off is humiliating enough as it is, without the added cruelty from ones former employer.

I was laid off from Intel in early 2023. As far as lay offs go, it was handled as well as can be expected during those times. I left with my dignity intact and I would jump at an opportunity to work there again.