‘I Wanted To Leave’: Meta Employee Says She Requested To Be Included In Layoffs Because...

Last Updated:May 25, 2026, 18:00 IST

A Meta employee has gone viral after revealing she voluntarily asked to be included in the company’s latest layoffs amid its growing AI-first push.

Leaving a stable job is difficult for most people, especially during a major round of layoffs. But one Meta employee surprised social media after revealing that she had voluntarily asked the company to include her in its latest job cuts.

The employee, who worked as a content designer for Facebook in Los Angeles, shared in a LinkedIn post that she had spent six years at Meta before deciding it was time to move on. Her post has now sparked a wider conversation online about layoffs, workplace culture and the growing pressure to adapt to artificial intelligence in the tech industry.

According to her, the decision was not made suddenly. She explained that she had been feeling disconnected from the company’s direction for quite some time.

Why She Chose To Leave Meta

In the post, the former employee explained that Meta’s long-term goals no longer matched her own professional interests. “I had been there exactly six years, which was longer than 80% of the company. This was not an impulsive decision. For a long time now, Meta’s ambitions and my own were in different continents," she wrote.

She said the timing also felt right for her personal life. At the same time, she hoped that by stepping away voluntarily, another employee who wanted to stay at the company might keep their role.

“I wanted to move on because the timing was right for my personal life, and partly because I hoped it might help save the spot of someone who wanted to stay," she added.

The employee also joked that she may already have been included in the layoffs before she made the request herself.

AI Culture Inside Meta Discussed

A major part of her post focused on how work culture inside Meta has changed as the company pushes harder towards artificial intelligence. She explained that employees were increasingly expected to use AI tools in their daily work.

Teams were encouraged to rely on AI for tasks like prototyping, solving coding issues and automating repetitive work. However, she also shared concerns about the growing belief that learning AI tools alone would guarantee job security.

Her comments triggered a broader discussion online about automation and the pressure many tech workers now feel to constantly update their skills.

Despite deciding to leave, she spoke positively about many parts of her time at Meta, especially work related to brand voice and localisation. She also said she planned to take a short break before looking for her next role.

“In the short term, I’m taking a breather. After that, I’ll be looking for roles where verbal transparency, strong editorial judgment and cultural savvy are treated as essential and where creative is still a thing," she wrote.

She added that she wanted to work in places where communication, editorial judgment and creativity continue to matter alongside technology.

Read The Post Here

Social Media Users React

As the post spread online, many users responded with support and shared their own layoff experiences.

A user wrote, “I’m sorry to hear that. I went through a layoff at Microsoft a year ago, and many great things ended up happening afterward. I’d be happy to chat."

Another commented, “I got the axe, too 🙁 Thank you for being the best onboarding buddy and Reels partner!! Anyone who works with Julie Boné leaves with a sharper craft, a better sense of humor, and probably a few legendary one-liners permanently embedded in their brain."

A different user wrote, “Whether a single cell on a single spreadsheet was changed matters so much less than all the other positive ripples of your work and message."

Some users also wondered how many employees had been affected during Meta’s latest round of layoffs. “Just how many people were impacted this time? I’ve seen a couple of posts like this in my feed today," a person commented.

Another former Meta employee added, “Take the time you need and just let it set in. As a former Metamate, going through this myself and supporting others, I would welcome the opportunity to find time to chat and share how I think I can help."

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