A decade ago, free food was a defining perk of working for big tech. Times are tougher, now, but Meta still gives its employees who work at offices without company canteens a hand: They get daily credits on delivery services like UberEats and Grubhub to order food, ranging from $20 for breakfast and $25 apiece for lunch and dinner. If you try to use those credits on something besides food, though… YOU’RE FIRED!
No, seriously.
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Meta reportedly fired 24 workers at its Los Angeles headquarters for abusing their voucher system. The company, which oversees Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, found some members of staff using the delivery credits for things beside slopbowls at their desk. They reportedly ordered household items like laundry detergent, wine glasses, and toothbrushes, according to The Guardian. Some people got food delivered not to the office but to their houses for later.
Most on staff utilized the perk as it was intended, and workers who had committed only minor infractions were issued a warning. I suppose if someone went to Wegmans for lunch and maybe tacked on a $3.99 pack of Tylenol one time, that would fall into that category.
Today, news also broke that Meta was laying off employees across various departments, including WhatsApp, Instagram, and Reality Labs, according to The Verge. Said a company spokesman: “Today, a few teams at Meta are making changes to ensure resources are aligned with their long-term strategic goals and location strategy. This includes moving some teams to different locations, and moving some employees to different roles. In situations like this when a role is eliminated, we work hard to find other opportunities for impacted employees.”
Probably just a coincidence, but if the company was looking to cut back in general, I guess it makes sense they were keeping a borderline-absurdly-watchful eye on employees’ UberEats orders.
