On Wednesday, Meta let off 13% of its workers. More than 11000 employees, including those working for Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, have been let go by CEO Mark Zuckerberg overall. Zuckerberg accepted full responsibility for the Meta layoffs, in contrast to Twitter CEO Elon Musk.
In addition to providing severance money to affected employees, Meta is also helping foreign workers, including Indians, with their immigration. "I know this is especially difficult if you're here on a visa. There's a notice period before termination and some visa grace periods, which means everyone will have time to make plans and work through their immigration status. We have dedicated immigration specialists to help guide you based on what you and your family need," Zuckerberg said in the blog post.
Many of the affected employees have H1B visas, which give them 60 days to find new employment in the US after being let go. The affected employee will have to return to their home country and the original company will be responsible for the flying costs if they are unable to find employment within the allotted time frame.
Many foreign workers, especially many Indians, are looking for work in order to remain in the United States following big layoffs at Meta and Twitter. While Meta has devoted immigration professionals who will assist impacted employees and their family if they do not find a job in the next 60 days, Twitter has not provided any immigration support.
According to the corporation, US employees would receive 16 weeks of severance compensation as well as two "additional weeks for every year of service, with no cap." Employees who are impacted will receive all remaining PTO time, vesting on November 15, 2022, healthcare costs for them and their families for six months, and three months of career support from a third party (including early access to unpublished job leads). The corporation affirmed that affected employees who work abroad will also receive similar help and that country-specific information will be shared through different procedures that take into account regional employment rules. At this time, it is unclear exactly what kind of support the affected Indian employees will receive.
