Tech giants are laying off thousands of people

Meta, Twitter, Stripe, and Lyft are among the tech giants who have announced mass layoffs in recent weeks. All four companies publicly announced severance packages for their laid-off US employees. Here’s how they stack up.

Meta, Twitter, Lyft, and Stripe did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.

Note: Insider will be updating this story as more tech companies lay off employees. Check back for more information.

Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg announced on Wednesday morning that the tech giant would lay off more than 11,000 employees, an anticipated move from the company after weeks of reports that it was planning job cuts.

It’s the first time that Meta has conducted a broad cull of its employees in its 18-year history. Zuckerberg admitted responsibility for the cuts, saying he wrongly predicted that the market’s bullish sprint during the pandemic would last longer.

“I want to take accountability for these decisions and for how we got here,” Zuckerberg wrote in a memo to employees.

The layoffs have prompted mixed reactions from outgoing employees. Some said on social media that they were thankful for their experience with Meta, while others expressed unhappiness at being fired via email or said they were let go just after returning from paternal leave.

Meta’s net income in the third quarter was around $4.4 billion, down 52% year-on-year, as it focuses on Zuckerberg’s vision to establish the metaverse.

• Percentage of staff laid off: 13%
• Minimum severance pay: 16 weeks of base salary
• Additional severance pay: two weeks per year of service worked, with no cap
• Health insurance: six months from layoff date
• Immigration support: immigration specialists to contact those on visas
• Other benefits: three months of “career support” with an external vendor, including early access to job leads.

Twitter slashed nearly half of its global workforce, or roughly 3,700 employees, after billionaire Elon Musk purchased the platform. Musk tweeted on November 4 that he had “no choice” but to cut the jobs, writing that Twitter was losing $4 million per day.

The day before, employees received an unsigned memo saying that layoffs were incoming.

“If your employment is not impacted, you will receive a notification via your Twitter email,” the memo read. “If your employment is impacted, you will receive a notification with next steps via your personal email.”

The ham-fisted approach drew heavy criticism from former employees, with some saying Twitter’s layoffs were a “master class in how not to do it.” Culled employees complained that they were fired with little-to-no notice. Some told Insider that they lost access to their laptops before receiving notice of their termination. Several employees are suing Twitter, saying they weren’t given enough notice before being cut.

Twitter’s third quarter results have not been released, but the company lost $270 million in the second quarter of 2022, compared to a net income of $66 million on year.

• Percentage of staff laid off: estimated 50%
• Minimum severance pay: three months of salary, roughly 12 weeks, according to Musk
• Additional severance pay: no public mention
• Health insurance: no public mention
• Immigration support: no public mention
• Other benefits: no public mention

Ridesharing startup Lyft’s cofounders Logan Green and John Zimmer sent a memo to employees on November 3 announcing that the company was cutting 683 jobs, as it faces financial headwinds and a looming global recession.

“We worked hard to bring down costs this summer: we slowed, then froze hiring; cut spending; and paused less-critical initiatives,” the memo said. “Still, Lyft has to become leaner, which requires us to part with incredible team members.”

Lyft reported a net loss of $422.2 million for the third quarter of 2022, ballooning from a $99.7 million net loss in the same quarter last year.

• Percentage of staff laid off: 13%
• Minimum severance pay: 10 weeks of salary
• Additional severance pay: four weeks of salary for employees who worked at least four years at Lyft
• Health insurance: coverage through April 30, 2023
• Immigration support: no public mention
• Other benefits: employees will also get recruiting assistance and coaching sessions on resumes and interviews, the company said

Payment platform Stripe announced mass layoffs on November 3, pointing to poor conditions in the economy.

Stripe cofounders Patrick and John Collison wrote in a memo to employees that the company needed to “match the pace of our investments with the realities around us.”

“Doing right by our users and our shareholders (including you) means embracing reality as it is,” they wrote.

Stripe’s memo was praised publicly by some of its workers, with one employee calling it “the right decision” and lauding the Collison brothers for taking responsibility in their note.

“The leaders are taking full ownership of the consequences of their decision and truly showing compassion towards each employee by offering them a well-thought-out and generous severance package,” Joe Alim, HR platform Compt’s vice president of product and operations, told Insider’s Rachel DuRose.

Stripe is privately held, which means its shares are not traded on a public stock market.

• Percentage of staff laid off: 14%
• Minimum severance pay: 14 weeks of salary
• Additional severance pay: unspecified extra pay for employees with longer tenure
• Health insurance: cash equivalent of six months of healthcare premiums or healthcare continuation
• Immigration support: Stripe said it would work with employees on visas, and will support transitions to non-employment visas if it can
• Other benefits: annual bonuses for 2022, regardless of departure date. Payment for all unused paid-time-off or leave days.

BusinessInsider