If you are one in all the 8,000 meta-employees being laid off in May, the difference between an excellent end result and a terrific end result may very well be $50,000 or more. The fundamental reason for the layoffs mentioned by the corporate is to offset the huge AI investments.
I’ve spent 14 years helping people negotiate severance packages, including planning my very own layoff and that of my wife, and Meta’s offering is a terrific case study for those trying to voluntarily leave their job.
Walking away from a job you do not like with money in your pocket is probably the greatest feelings ever. Please never quit your job without first attempting to barter a severance package. If you secure a severance package, you might receive money, advantages, and a financial head start. If you hand over, you normally get nothing.
Here is the important thing excerpt from Meta’s internal memo that was leaked to the general public:
On the surface, 16 weeks of base salary plus two weeks of service per 12 months sounds impressive. If you’ve got been at Meta for 10 years, that is 16 + 20 = 36 weeks’ salary. A base of $250,000 works out to about $173,000. Not bad.
But most employees do not know that and it changes the image somewhat.
The WARN Act: What meta must be paid and what’s negotiable?
The California WARN Act requires corporations with 75 or more employees to supply 60 days’ notice to all employees or pay them 60 days’ wages before a mass layoff. That’s 8 weeks, non-negotiable, required by law and never a favor Meta is doing you.
This is significant because A severance payment is a voluntary payment. WARN Act pay shouldn’t be the case. If you exclude the 8 weeks that Meta is legally required to pay, the actual voluntary severance payment amounts to only 8 additional weeks of base salary plus two weeks per 12 months of service.
That changes the grade.
Grading of Meta’s severance package
Basic salary component: B+
A complete of 16 weeks (8 mandatory + 8 voluntary) is above average, but not exceptional. The gold standard that I actually have seen time and time again, each in my very own negotiations and within the hundred-plus people I actually have consulted with, is three weeks’ salary for every year of servicenot two.
This 50% increase is totally achievable and price fighting for. My wife and I actually have that. Many of my consulting clients also received this.
Meta gives you two weeks per 12 months. You should ask for 3.
COBRA coverage: A+
Meta really deserves recognition here. What’s great is 100% COBRA medical health insurance coverage for 18 months.
The average I’ve seen across a whole bunch of severance packages is six months the COBRA cover. Some corporations offer nothing in any respect. Meta’s 18 months is basically rare, and for a family the bill is important.
My family spends about $3,000 a month on medical health insurance. Eighteen months of meta-covered COBRA could be price $54,000 to us alone. When considering competing job offers after a layoff, do not forget to contemplate what you’d lose if that coverage ends.
Overall package: B+
Solid, above average and particularly generous when it comes to healthcare. But the bottom salary component still has scope, and that is where your energy should go.
Knowing upfront is a big advantage – make the most of it
Meta announced the May 20 discharge date weeks upfront. For most employees, this appears like a month of hysteria. But should you put it one other way, it’s actually a leveraged month.
If you would like to keep your jobuse this window aggressively. Contact your manager again. Be specific about your value. Make yourself visible to the individuals who make the selections. This will improve your probabilities of survival.
If you’ve got already considered leavingThis is probably the greatest things that would have happened to you. Every 12 months, hundreds of employees forgo severance packages to which they were legally and ethically entitled just because they were too uncomfortable to ask or because they didn’t understand how. When you stop, every little thing is lost. When you negotiate a layoff, you are putting money in your pocket on the way in which out.
Now is the time for dissatisfied meta-employees to be voluntarily let go. You relieve your boss of a painful decision. They may open the door to a greater package. And should you do it right, you may even have the ability to get back into being a part-time consultant at a significantly higher hourly rate, something I’ve helped dozens of individuals do, including my very own wife.
What to do now
The time window until May twentieth is brief. How to spend it:
FirstMake sure your personal email address is updated in Workday. Meta has specifically stated that layoff notices will probably be sent to each your work and private accounts.
SecondIf you are able to be fired, start having calm conversations along with your supervisor or HR manager now. Frame it as a desire to assist them through a difficult process, fairly than desperation.
Thirdunderstand that the package announced by Meta is a start line and never a ceiling. Compensation is negotiable. Most people do not know this. Those who make it almost all the time come out ahead.
In my book, I’ve laid out the entire guide to precisely the right way to have these conversations – what to say, what to not say, the right way to time it, and the right way to get rehired at the next price. If you might be a meta-employee reading this immediately or someone trying to quit your job, I might start here.
If you would like personal help dealing along with your specific situation, Book a consultation here. I provide you with the courage to take the step of trust. I work directly with a limited number of individuals and given the schedule, spots will fill quickly.
