Stocks plunge, Meta (Facebook) cuts employee benefits

Facebook’s parent company Meta is planning to bring employees back to the office after a long period of working online, however, employees will no longer enjoy the perks they once had.

According to a new report published by the New York Times, seven unnamed Meta employees said most employees are expected to return to the office by the end of March but will no longer enjoy the same privileges as before. The company’s stock price is going downhill.

Meta told employees in Friday’s announcement that it would reduce or eliminate free services such as laundry, dry cleaning, valet parking and delay dinner until after 6pm. Employees said that the new dinner time is very inconvenient, because the last bus to take employees to leave the company to go home is also at 6pm.

These moves reflect the changing workplace culture in Silicon Valley. Tech companies, which often offer living perks in exchange for employees working long hours in the office, are preparing to adjust to a new hybrid working model.

For example, at Meta, many employees are scheduled to return to the company’s offices on March 28, but some will continue to work from home and others will come to the office infrequently.

The changes could be a warning to employees at other companies preparing to return to the office two years after the pandemic. Google, Meta and others have long provided living amenities such as on-site medical care, sushi buffets, candy shops and lounge chairs, etc. to attract and retain employees. pellets.

Meta has had a difficult time, for the first time since May 2020, Facebook’s capitalization – now Meta – fell below the $ 600 billion mark. Shares fell 2.1% to trade at $220.18, pushing the social network’s market value on Feb. 8 to $599.32 billion. In March, Meta’s market capitalization dropped to $515 billion.

While company managers say it wasn’t related to the change to perks, some employees suggested it was.

For years the company dominated the global social network, it’s now undergoing significant changes as growth stagnated and younger competitors like TikTok gain global traction. world.

Investors have questioned the long-term prospects of the company’s advertising business model. And some employees are thinking about looking for a new job when they notice a sharp drop in the value of their stock-based pay.

Last year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company would shift its focus to the metaverse. The entire company has been reorganized around Zuckerberg’s vision of augmented and virtual reality products.

Meta has been discussing changes to its perks program for months as the company studies how to transition to a new hybrid working model, two employees said. The company also expanded employee wellness benefits from about $700 to $3,000 this year in an effort to offset the removal of some in-office perks. This level of assistance covers everything from physical health care to mental health and expenses related to financial planning, child care, aged care and pet care.

“When we returned to the office, we adjusted the services and amenities in place to better reflect the needs of the combined workforce,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement to employees. . “We believe people and teams will be increasingly distributed in the future, and we are committed to building experiences that help everyone succeed.”

Just minutes after the changes were announced, employees asked if the company planned to compensate them in some way, and if Meta conducted an employee survey to assess the changes. How will the change affect them?

Contrary to many objections, some were in favor of this change.

Andrew Bosworth, Meta’s chief technology officer, has defended some of the changes vehemently. Mike Schroepfer, the outgoing chief technology officer, also wrote comments in support of the changes.

Another employee working in the food service group also supported the change, saying the shift in meal times would prevent employees from abusing their dining privileges and taking large amounts of food home for free. Before that, someone crammed up to 10 boxes of steaks to take home.

Meta says the change in meal service is for employees who want to work late, while the removal of valet parking is meant to reduce environmental impact by encouraging employees not to bring their own cars. Workplace.

Stopping laundry service for employees at Meta’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California, ended a famously strange Silicon Valley privilege. A laundry service operated by a third party offers free pick-up and drop-off around campus and is intended to “make people’s lives easier,” according to Facebook in a statement in 2020.

Reference: NYTimes