‘I gave up on having kids while I’m at Meta’: Employee cites layoff fears, says family planning seems ‘absurd’

Employee morale at Meta appears to have hit rock bottom after a series of mass layoffs over the last couple of years. The company’s last round of “performance-based layoffs” left nearly 3,600 people without a job. Coupled with internal restructuring pushing employees involuntarily to work in its new Applied AI division, more and more employees are voicing their dissatisfaction.The Meta employee said fears of job loss keep her from planning a family. (Representative Image)An example of how low the morale at Meta is can be gathered an employee’s post. Sharing the post anonymously on Blind, the Meta employee said she can’t plan on having children due to the constant fear of layoffs.“I gave up on having kids while I’m at Meta”I gave up on having kids while I’m at Meta,” the woman claimed in her post on Blind — an anonymous professional networking and discussion app where verified corporate employees talk about workplace culture, salaries, and layoffs.“It’s insane that I’m even writing this, but after a talk with my husband, the realization finally hit me… I have to give up on having a kid while I’m at Meta,” she elaborated.(Also read: ‘Zuckerberg took pay cut?’ Employee laid off on maternity leave calls out Meta)The woman attributed this decision to lack of job security. She claimed that there is no guarantee that she would still have a job when she returned from maternity leave.“There is absolutely zero guarantee I’ll still be employed here next year, let alone the time I’d actually return from mat leave,” she wrote.“My biological clock is ticking”https://x.com/JoinBlind/status/2085413372707610662The employee further said “the company’s dynamics, entirely unstable TC, and complete lack of job security” have made family planning impossible.With no assurance of a stable paycheck, family planning seems “absurd”, she said.Finally, she voiced her fears about her biological clock ticking. “The sad part is my biological clock is ticking and it’s ticking fast. What if because of this stupid job I’m never able to have kids?” the Meta employee wondered.Internet chimes inHer post was shared on X (formerly Twitter), where it sparked a discussion about work-life balance and the declining birth rate.“This has been happening for a long time. It’s why birth rates are low,” wrote one person.“It’s underdiscussed how ephemeral job security can be. If you get fired from Meta at 30 you may go down like $200k in yearly salary, it can be straight to fast food work. This anxiety affects middle class women especially badly,” another wrote.Many people advised the Meta employee not to put her personal life on hold because of professional fears. “Remember, you are just a number on the excel sheet of your organization. They can omit that number at their own will and you have ZERO control over it,” one X user commented.(Also read: Meta employees took free snacks, chargers during layoffs: ‘Almost like doomsday’)