Reports suggest that Mehta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, terminated approximately 24 employees at the Los Angeles office for misusing $25 meal credits to purchase items like toothpaste, laundry detergent, and wine glasses.
The tech giant, with a market capitalization of £1.2 trillion and ownership of WhatsApp, took action after an investigation revealed unauthorized food deliveries to employees’ homes. One employee allegedly fired was earning $400,000 and admitted to using meal credits for non-food items and groceries.
On Blind, an anonymous platform, the individual wrote about using meal credits only on days they did not eat at the office, leading to their termination upon admission during an HR probe. Some employees were also found to have used credits for personal items like acne pads, with consequences varying based on the severity of the violation.
Free meals have been a common perk at tech companies, including Meta, founded by Mark Zuckerberg, which offers free meals in large offices but provides daily food credits for smaller sites. These credits include $20 for breakfast, $25 for lunch, and $25 for dinner.
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In 2022, Meta made changes to its Silicon Valley campus, delaying the free dinner service by 30 minutes to 6:30 p.m. as part of broader cutbacks. This decision sparked discontent among employees as fewer could dine on campus, affecting access to leftover food to take home.
Requests for comment from Meta are pending.
Source: www.theguardian.com
