If you’re one of the 8,000 Meta employees being laid off in May, the difference between a good and great result could be worth $50,000 or more. The main reason for the layoffs is their massive AI CAPEX offset.
I spent 14 years helping people negotiate severance packagesincluding my engineering from work and of my wifeand Meta’s offering is one of the most interesting case studies I’ve seen in a long time. Let me break it down component by component.
Here’s the key excerpt from Meta’s internal memo that went out:
“We will support those being laid off with a generous severance package which, in the US, will include 16 weeks of base pay plus two weeks for each year of employment. We will also cover the cost of COBRA health care coverage for US workers and their families for 18 months.”
On the face of it, 16 weeks’ basic pay plus two weeks’ service per year sounds impressive. If you have 10 years at Meta, that’s 16 + 20 = 36 weeks of salary. On a $250,000 base, you’re looking at roughly $173,000. Not bad.
But here’s what most employees don’t know, and it changes the picture somewhat.
WARN Act: What Meta is Required to Pay vs. What is Negotiable
Under California WARNING Actcompanies with 75 or more employees must give 60 days’ notice or 60 days’ pay to all workers before a mass layoff. It is 8 weeks, non-negotiable, with a legal mandate and not a favor that Meta is doing you.
This matters because severance is voluntary pay. WARNING The act of payment is not. When you subtract the 8 weeks that Meta is legally required to pay anyway, the actual free leave comes down to just 8 additional weeks of basic pay, plus two weeks per year of service.
This changes the grade.
Evaluation of Meta’s severance package
Base Pay Component: B+
Sixteen weeks in total (8 mandatory + 8 voluntary) is above average, but not exceptional. The gold standard I have seen consistently, both in my own negotiations and with the hundreds of people I have consulted with, is three weeks pay for each year of servicenot two.
That 50% crash is absolutely achievable and worth fighting for. This is what my wife and I got. It’s also what many of my consulting clients have received.
Meta gives you two weeks a year. You should ask for three.
COBRA Coverage: A+
This is where Meta really deserves recognition. 100% COBRA health insurance coverage for 18 months is outstanding.
The average I’ve seen in hundreds of severance packages is six months of COBRA coverage. Some companies offer nothing at all. Meta’s 18 months is really rare and for a family, math is important.
My family spends approximately $3,000 a month on health insurance. Eighteen months of COBRA covered by Meta will only cost us $54,000. When you’re evaluating competing job offers after a layoff, don’t forget to consider what you’ll lose when that coverage ends.
Overall package: B+
Strong, above average and especially generous on health care. But the base payment component has room to move, and that’s where your energy should go.
Foreknowledge is a huge advantage – Use it
Meta announced the layoff date on May 20 weeks ahead of schedule. For most employees, this feels like a month of anxiety. But if you rephrase that, it’s actually a leverage month.
If you want to keep your jobuse this window aggressively. Reconnect with your manager. State your value in concrete terms. Be visible to the people making the decisions. In this way, you increase your chances of survival.
If you have already considered leavingthis is one of the best things that could have happened to you. Every year, thousands of employees walk away from the severance money they were legally and ethically entitled to, simply because they were too uncomfortable to ask for it, or didn’t know how. Giving up loses everything. Negotiating a severance puts money in your pocket when you walk out the door.
Now is the time for disgruntled Meta employees to volunteer to be fired. You relieve your manager of a painful decision. You can open the door to a better package. And if you approach it right, you may even be able to negotiate your way back as a part-time consultant at a much higher hourly rate, something I’ve helped dozens of people do, including my wife.
What to do now
The window between now and May 20 is short. Here’s how to spend it:
Firstmake sure your personal email is updated on the business day. Meta has explicitly said that notifications from work will go to both your work and personal accounts.
Secondlyif you’re open to being fired, start having quiet conversations with your manager or HR now. Chalk it up to wanting to help them through a difficult process, not desperation.
Thirdlyunderstand that the pack announced by Meta is a starting point, not a ceiling. Departure is negotiable. Most people don’t know this. Those who do almost always come out ahead.
I’ve laid out the complete playbook for exactly how to have these conversations—what to say, what not to say, how to time it, and how to get hired at a higher rate—in my book, How to engineer your layoff. If you’re a Meta employee reading this right now, or someone looking to quit their job, this is where I’d start. Use code “advice” at ark to save $10.
If you want personalized help navigating your specific situation, book a consultation here. I will give you the courage to take the leap of faith. I work directly with a limited number of people and given the time slots will fill up quickly.
