Tech giant Meta (formerly known as Facebook) has recently terminated the employment of nearly two dozen staff members based in Los Angeles.
The reason is abusing the company’s $25 meal voucher program by purchasing non-food household items.
Meta Meal Voucher Program and Its Misuse
Meta, like many other large tech companies, provides its employees with daily allowances for meals.
Staff members receive $20 for breakfast, $25 for lunch, and an additional $25 for dinner.
These meal credits are intended to be used within the office premises, but it seems some employees had other ideas.
According to reports, Meta discovered that certain employees had been misusing their meal vouchers for quite some time.
Instead of enjoying office lunches or dinners, they were pooling their funds or having meals sent home.
But that’s not all—these vouchers were being used to buy a wide range of non-food items, from acne pads to wine glasses and even laundry detergent.
It’s safe to say that the company’s intention of providing nourishment was taken quite liberally by these individuals.
Anonymous Revelations by Meta Employees
The Financial Times shed light on this issue by reviewing a post on the anonymous messaging platform Blind.
In the post, a former Meta staffer confessed to using the $25 meal credits to purchase everyday items like toothpaste and tea at a local pharmacy.
The staffer, who had a substantial salary of around $400,000, admitted to misusing the credits when Meta’s human resources department began investigating the practice.
The subsequent termination caught them off guard, leaving them with a sense of surreal disbelief.
Meta’s Response
When contacted for comment, Meta remained tight-lipped about the specific cases. However, they acknowledged that some employees had indeed abused the food credit system.
This incident comes amidst Meta’s ongoing restructuring efforts, which have included significant layoffs over the past few years.
The company’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, previously announced layoffs affecting thousands of workers during what he dubbed the “Year of Efficiency.”
Note: We are also on WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Google News, and YouTube, to get the latest news updates, Subscribe to our Channels. WhatsApp– Click Here, Google News– Click Here, YouTube – Click Here, and LinkedIn– Click Here.
