Meta retrenches staff around the world, including those in S'pore

Facebook's parent company Meta retrenched several employees in its Singapore office after notices were apparently sent out on Monday, Feb. 10 to employees who were losing their jobs, starting at 9pm Singapore time.

The retrenchment was part of the company's "performance terminations", which it had announced in January.

Around 3,600 employees worldwide would be affected, or about 5 per cent of its total staff.

The layoff exercise at Meta's Singapore office, which is located at Marina One, was confirmed by a LinkedIn user, who identified herself as a product manager at the company, as well as sources who spoke to The Straits Times.

According to one source, employees from various job functions were laid off, including engineering, partnerships, global business operations, and policy.

However, a Meta spokesperson did not reveal how many jobs were axed and only pointed to past articles on its "performance terminations" when approached by ST.

Affected employees not necessarily 'low performers'

According to the LinkedIn user, who appeared to survive the Feb. 10 retrenchment, the latest layoffs "have been deeply emotional and challenging" for her and many others, even though it was not the first wave of layoffs she has witnessed during her three-year tenure at Meta.

She added that not all affected employees were "low performers", as suggested by the title of the latest retrenchment.

She contended that "low performance at Meta often means top performance elsewhere" and even accused the company of laying off employees who had recently returned from maternity or parental leaves they took in 2024.

A co-organiser behind a networking event for affected Meta employees also told ST that at least two employees who had returned from paternal leave and medical leave in late 2024 lost their jobs in the latest layoff.

The co-organiser further alleged that when the person who went on medical leave consulted the company's human resources department on whether their absence would negatively affect their performance, the department apparently said it would not.

Affected workers can reach out to NTUC

In response to Mothership's queries, the Creative Media and Publishing Union (CMPU) under the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) said that Meta is a non-unionised company.

"In retrenchment exercises where there are individual union members working in non-unionised companies, NTUC's affiliated unions or associations will extend assistance to these individual members, should they be affected by the exercise," read the statement.

Affected workers and union members are encouraged to reach out to CMPU via email at [email protected] or by phone at +65 6213 8510 for assistance.

For instance, workers can access job matching services, as well as career and skills upgrading advisory via NTUC's e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) to prepare themselves for the next job opportunity.

Additionally, affected union members who require skills upgrading can also tap on the Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP) to offset training course fees.

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