The social media giant, Meta (owner of Facebook and Instagram), reportedly let go around 24 workers from its Los Angeles offices due to misuse of their meal credits – worth $25 each - which were intended solely for ordering food deliveries during work hours as per a story in the Financial Times.
Meta, whose value is approximately £1.2tn and owns messaging app WhatsApp too, conducted an internal probe after discovering some staff exploiting this system by purchasing items like toothpaste, detergent for laundry tasks, as well as wine glasses outside of official meal times - with instances involving high-earners including one on a £400k salary who spent their credits buying household goods and groceries.
Discussing this misuse privately within the anonymous platform Blind revealed an employee's perspective, stating they would not let valid meal credit expire if there were reasons to skip office lunch for personal matters or social engagements outside of work hours - a clear breach in company policy when these credits are only meant as compensation during designated eating times at the corporate canteen.
While some employees with occasional lapses faced reprimand, they retained their positions; however, more serious misuse led to termination of employment for others involved - a revelation which seemed almost unbelievable according to accounts shared on Blind by these workers and reported widely in the media.
As is common with big tech companies like Meta (originally Facebook under Mark Zuckerberg's leadership), free food has long been part of its employment benefits, especially at larger sites where staff can dine from company-provided cafeterias or via third party delivery services during working hours. However, those not in such premises receive daily credits to order these meals with a budget set for breakfast (around $20), lunch and dinner ($25 each).
The Financial Times also reported on another controversy from 2022 when Meta delayed its free evening delivery service at the Silicon Valley campus by half an hour, causing unrest among employees who feared it would curtail their ability to make use of leftovers for home consumption. The company has yet to respond officially (Meta hasn't commented).
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