At least one of the stories of “counterfeit work” may be true.
A TikToker is claiming on the platform that as a former employee of Meta, he had to work really hard – well, to find work, according to an insider.
“They were like hoarding us, like Pokémon cards,” Brittany Levy said in the video. “You struggled to find work.”
@clearlythere #stitch with @roilysm #meta #metalayoffs #tech #techtok #techlayoffs #businessinsider #news #google #work #career #metaseverance #fyp #business ♬ original sound – brit
Meta, like other tech companies, went on a hiring bonanza during the pandemic as it faced huge demand for its products and services while people were stuck inside.
Meta said it had 44,942 employees as on December 31, 2019. By the end of 2021, the company listed 71,970 employees in its annual report and wrote “expects[ed] The workforce will continue to grow in the near future.”
But, after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates and consumer habits changed, Meta, and similar companies, including Amazon and Google, faced a hard landing — and layoffs.
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Meta then said that 2023 was going to be “the year of efficiency” after laying off 11,000 people in November. The company announced more layoffs this week, affecting another 10,000 people.
Earlier this month, Keith Rabois, a general partner at Founders Fund, added to the criticism that Meta was overstaffed.
“These people have nothing to do – they really are – it’s all fake work,” he said.
As Insider previously reported, after being laid off in 2022, Levy declined to sign a severance agreement because she wanted to be able to discuss her experience with the company. (The outlet confirmed her job status and the layoffs.)
Levy, 35, was hired through Meta’s “Sourcer Development Program,” which attempted to recruit workers from underrepresented backgrounds. Levy, a Mexican-American, said he was not offered any work after he was hired. He was let go in the first round of layoffs in November.
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“I was basically set up to fail,” she told the outlet.
“We were just sitting there,” she added in the video. “It seemed like Meta was hiring people so other companies couldn’t hire us.”