Meta has dismissed 24 employees in Los Angeles after discovering they had been using company-issued meal credits for personal purchases, including household items like toothpaste, acne pads, and wine glasses, according to a report by Financial Times. The meal credits, intended for food deliveries to the office, were misused, prompting Meta to take disciplinary action.
Meta, like other major tech companies, offers food perks to its employees, with those in larger offices, such as its Silicon Valley headquarters, enjoying free on-campus meals. However, employees in smaller offices are provided with credits through platforms like Uber Eats and Grubhub. These daily credits—$20 for breakfast and $25 each for lunch and dinner—are meant to cover work-related meals.
Abuse of meal credits leads to firings
The employees in question reportedly used the meal credits for non-food items, violating company policy. Some were ordering personal food deliveries to their homes, while others pooled their credits together. Meta fired only those who had been misusing the system over an extended period. Employees who occasionally made improper purchases were issued warnings rather than being terminated.
One former employee, who earned $400,000 annually at Meta, shared their experience anonymously on Blind, a platform where professionals discuss workplace matters. They admitted to using their $25 meal credit to purchase toothpaste from Rite Aid and other non-food items when they didn’t need food. Despite admitting their mistake to HR, they were later unexpectedly fired.
“It was almost surreal that this was happening,” the ex-employee wrote.
Meal credit misuse separate from layoffs
These firings were unrelated to the broader layoffs happening at Meta-owned companies, such as WhatsApp and Threads, but highlight the tech giant’s strict enforcement of its internal policies.