Meta employees reportedly stuffed bags with snacks before layoffs hit - ‘felt like doomsday’

The fear of layoffs inside Big Tech companies is nothing new anymore, but a former Meta employee has now shared a bizarre behind-the-scenes detail that’s grabbing attention online. According to her, the night before Meta’s first massive layoff round felt “almost like doomsday,” with employees reportedly stuffing their bags with free office snacks, chargers, and drinks before the cuts officially began.


And honestly, the internet cannot stop talking about it.


Former Meta employee Adel Wu recently posted on X about the tense atmosphere inside the company during the layoffs. Her post has now gone viral as fresh reports suggest Meta could announce another major round of job cuts on May 20, with nearly 8,000 jobs reportedly at risk.


Recalling the company’s earlier layoffs, Wu revealed that the uncertainty inside Meta offices was intense.


“During my last year at Meta there were probably 4-5 layoffs, but this one on 5/20 is huuuge,” she wrote on X.

She also said many of her friends still working at the company are currently dealing with extreme anxiety about their future.


“My friends still there are either just waiting hoping to get laid off or extremely anxious because the job is their lifeline,” she added.


But it was one particular detail from her post that really caught people’s attention online.


Wu recalled how employees reacted the night before one of Meta’s biggest layoff announcements.


“I remember the very first big layoff the night before was almost like doomsday, people were stuffing their bags with free snacks and drinks and chargers,” she wrote.


That one line instantly triggered a flood of reactions from people who either worked in tech or had experienced layoffs themselves.


Many users said the atmosphere during layoffs inside large companies can become emotionally exhausting very quickly, especially when employees spend days waiting for an email deciding their future.


One person commented, “I remember waking up at 3 am just staring at my inbox waiting for the email of doom.”

Another user wrote, “The first layoffs completely killed morale. After that, everyone was either anxious or secretly hoping they’d get severance.”


Someone else recalled how an employee was reportedly laid off while travelling for work during one of Meta’s earlier rounds of cuts.


“The first layoff was wild. Someone on my team got laid off mid-business trip,” the user claimed.


Meta’s layoff history has become one of the biggest talking points in the tech industry over the last few years. Back in 2022, the company cut around 11,000 jobs, marking the first major layoffs in Meta’s history. At the time, the company was heavily investing in its metaverse plans while also facing slowing growth and rising costs.


Since then, multiple rounds of layoffs have followed as the tech industry shifted focus towards AI and automation.


What’s making this latest conversation go viral is how relatable the fear around layoffs has become for people working across the tech world. The image of employees quietly packing snacks and chargers into backpacks before possible job cuts feels strange, sad, and oddly human at the same time.


And online, many people said it perfectly captured the mood inside the modern tech industry right now - uncertain, anxious, and emotionally drained despite the glamorous image often associated with Big Tech companies.


For many former employees, the layoffs didn’t just affect jobs. They changed how people viewed workplace stability altogether.


As one user summed it up online: “The free snacks stopped feeling fun after the layoffs started.”

What are your views on behaviour of Meta employees?