After Google and Microsoft, Meta asks employees to leave voluntarily
After Google and Microsoft, Meta offers voluntary exit packages to employees in France, with 2.15 months' salary per year of service and 10 months of paid leave
As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes the technology industry, major companies are exploring different ways to restructure their workforces. After laying off thousands of employees, tech giants are now offering Voluntary Exit Options (VEOs), under which employees can choose to leave the organisation in exchange for a severance package.
Meta has joined Google and Microsoft in offering monetary benefits to employees willing to leave. The Mark Zuckerberg-led company has set November 5 as the deadline for employees in France to apply for the VEO. According to French publication La Lettre, Meta has around 300 employees in France, and around 100 of them could be affected by the programme.
How Meta differs from the rest
Unlike the individual voluntary exit offers introduced by Google and Microsoft, Meta's proposal is based on a collective contractual termination procedure under French labour law, known as RCC. RCC stands for Rupture Conventionnelle Collective. It is a French labour-law mechanism that allows employers and trade unions to negotiate a voluntary reduction in the workforce.
Google had earlier announced details of its severance packages linked to voluntary exits for employees across Canada, France, Germany, Japan and Switzerland. Meanwhile, Microsoft announced a severance package for eligible employees in the US, Canada, India and the UK.
Also read: Google offers voluntary exit to employees in five countries amid AI spending push
Canva announced a separate severance package for employees affected by its workforce restructuring, including at least six months' salary, MacBooks and LinkedIn Premium subscriptions.
Meta's severance package
Under the proposed terms, employees opting for the exit package would receive compensation equivalent to 2.15 months of salary for every year of service. Meta is also offering paid mobility leave, providing employees with 10 months of leave at 80% of their gross salary.
The company is reportedly also considering financial assistance for employees looking to pursue professional retraining or start their own businesses.
AI and job cuts
The timeline of Meta's workforce changes offers some context to the latest development. In April, Meta announced plans to eliminate approximately 8,000 positions, representing around 10% of its global workforce. In May, the company decided to reassign around 7,000 employees to roles and functions connected with AI. Negotiations for the voluntary exit programme in France reportedly began in July, with November 5 set as the application deadline.
Also read: Amazon cuts fewer than 1,000 jobs across retail operations in India, US and UK
Meta is also significantly increasing its investment in AI, with capital expenditure projected to reach between $135 billion and $145 billion in 2026, primarily towards digital infrastructure and data centres. The company is also developing personal AI agents under its Muse initiative.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has argued that AI can make employees more productive, allowing smaller teams to accomplish tasks that previously required considerably more people.