Meta recently conducted the third round of the layoffs it had announced in the month of March. The new round has impacted multiple departments. Employees from marketing, site security, enterprise engineering, program management, content strategy, and corporate communications took to LinkedIn to announce their unfortunate job losses. One such post came from Yoonhwan Kim who was an enterprise engineer at Meta before getting fired. In his heartfelt LinkedIn post, Kim opened up about the anxiety and uncertainty he experienced leading up to his layoff. The post provides a glimpse into the emotional rollercoaster that many employees face during times of corporate restructuring.
Kim began his post by expressing surprise at finding himself writing his first LinkedIn post announcing his job loss. He revealed that in late February, he was reassigned to a different team, which coincided with rumors of upcoming layoffs at Meta. The official confirmation arrived in March, leaving Kim with mixed feelings about his own fate within the company.
For the following two months, Kim endured a lengthy period of waiting, which only heightened his anxiety. In a testament to the toll it took on him, he confessed to being unable to sleep the night before the final announcement. Fearful yet curious about his employment status, Kim refrained from checking his work email until 5 am PT, the designated time for employees to receive confirmation that they were safe from the layoffs.
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Kim said, "It was long 2 months of waiting, and yesterday I couldn't sleep but also not dare to check my work email until 5 am PT (when we know we are safe), so I was looking at my personal phone, expecting that whatever mail would be sent to my work mail. Around 4:30 AM, I got mail from leadership in my personal email, and intuitively realized that I'm included in this layoff."
Kim's experience took a turn when he received an email from leadership, not in his work inbox, but in his personal email account around 4:30 am. Intuitively, he realized that the email brought the news he had dreaded — he was included in the layoff.
Also read: Tech layoffs: Meta India directors of marketing, media partnerships laid off
Kim did find solace in the outpouring of support from his former colleagues, whom he referred to as "METAMATES." He expressed gratitude for the heartwarming messages he received during this difficult time. Additionally, Kim acknowledged feeling fortunate that, as a young professional without financial obligations such as supporting a family or a mortgage, he could navigate this setback with less pressure.