Meta layoffs: Meta has laid 8,000 employees globally, and among those affected was the husband of Vijaya Priya Joshi, whose LinkedIn post is now drawing widespread attention online.
The layoffs reportedly began in phases on Wednesday, with affected employees receiving emails around 4 am local time informing them that their roles had been eliminated.
Amid the wave of job cuts, Joshi shared how her husband, Varun J., lost his job less than a month after joining Meta for what the family believed was his “dream role” in New York.
“Less than a month ago, my husband, Varun J. accepted what truly felt like his dream job in New York — the culmination of years of hard work, experience, sacrifice, and a genuine desire to use technology to create meaningful impact in policy,” she wrote on LinkedIn.
Joshi explained that the family had already made life-changing decisions based on the opportunity, including selling their home and relocating with their toddler to a completely new state.
“Like many families do, we built our lives around that decision. After months of interviews and conversations, the opportunity felt intentional, stable, and worth taking a leap for. We sold our home, moved our toddler and family to a completely new state, and started over full of excitement for what was ahead,” the post said.
But soon after the move, the family received devastating news.
“The day after we sold our home, we learned his role had been impacted by Meta’s mass layoffs — less than a month into his role,” she added.
Viral LinkedIn post highlights emotional impact of layoffs
Joshi’s post quickly resonated with thousands of users online, many of whom said it reflected the growing uncertainty faced by professionals working in the global technology sector.
Calling the experience “deeply eye-opening”, she said layoffs affect far more than just employees.
“This experience has been deeply eye-opening. Companies have every right to make business decisions, but moments like these are a reminder that employees are not just headcount on a spreadsheet. Behind every hiring decision and every layoff is an entire ecosystem of people whose lives are shaped by those choices – spouses adjusting careers, children leaving homes, families rebuilding support systems, and people taking enormous personal and financial risks in good faith,” she wrote.
At the same time, she also thanked people and organisations that supported the family during the difficult period.
“We’ve also experienced incredible humanity through all of this. I’m especially grateful to my own company (Onyx) for supporting my relocation and accommodating my move despite the operational complexity it created for them,” she added.
She further thanked friends, colleagues and strangers who reached out with referrals, encouragement and support after the layoffs.
Meta deepens AI restructuring
Meta’s latest restructuring comes as CEO Mark Zuckerberg continues pushing the company deeper into AI-focused operations.
Reports suggest the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp may spend more than $100 billion this year on AI infrastructure, talent and related projects.
Workers in the United States affected by the layoffs are expected to receive 16 weeks of severance pay, along with an additional two weeks of salary for every year spent at the company.
The latest round of layoffs has once again intensified discussions around job security in the tech industry as companies continue restructuring operations around artificial intelligence and automation.
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