I was recently laid off from Meta after 14 years, and it's been a gut-wrenching experience. I have 60 days to find another job, which feels incredibly daunting. While I have some savings to fall back on, transitioning to a consultancy might mean taking a significant pay cut compared to my previous salary. It's hard to think about leaving the US and going back to India, especially after establishing my life here. I know the risks of tying my immigration status to my job, but it still feels surreal to be in this position. The comments from others have been mixed; some suggest I'll be fine with my savings, while others remind me of the harsh realities of this industry. I'm trying to stay positive and explore my options.

I recently came across a court filing from Meta that detailed how they approached their layoffs. It was interesting to see how the process was structured. According to the filing, business leaders first pinpointed which parts of the organization would be impacted. They then categorized employees into specific groups based on their job levels and roles. After that, they established objective selection criteria that were tied to business needs. I found it surprising that some people were shocked by this method. To me, it seems like a standard practice in layoffs, especially in large companies. As someone who has spent years in HR, I know that we often provide decision-makers with spreadsheets containing various data points about employees, such as their job titles, levels, and performance over the last few years. It makes me wonder if using AI to make these decisions would be any better than the current methods. It feels like there’s a lot of debate around the ethics of how layoffs are conducted, but ultimately, companies need to make tough choices based on business needs.