Laid off from Meta.
Meta has paid some of the most generous severance in tech, and has laid people off often enough that the playbook is well documented. Know what the standard package has looked like before anyone asks you to sign anything.
At a glance
What's been reported about Meta severance packages
- 16 weeks + 2 weeks per year · Severance formula, every documented round
- 18 months for you and family · Healthcare, reported in the 2026 round
- RSUs vest through your last payroll day · Equity
- 3 months with an external vendor · Career support
The latest
About 8,000 roles cut in the AI restructuring, more signaled
The May 2026 round cut roughly 10% of the company, hitting Reality Labs, the Facebook social division, recruiting, sales, and global operations while AI teams were protected, with further cuts signaled for the second half of 2026. Reported packages kept the standard 16-plus-2 formula and stretched health coverage to 18 months.
Previous rounds
How Meta has handled layoffs in the past
Meta's documented rounds have followed one template since November 2022. The formula in Zuckerberg's original memo, 16 weeks plus 2 per year with no cap, has shown up in reporting on every major round since, through the 2023 Year of Efficiency waves, the 2025 performance cuts, and the 2026 AI restructuring that cut about 8,000 roles in May. Four years of consistency is unusual in this market, and it has made Meta's package the most predictable in tech.
What has changed round to round is the framing, not the math. The 2023 cuts were sold as efficiency, the 2025 round was labeled performance-based, and the 2026 cuts were framed as funding the AI race. In reported accounts, none of those labels changed what affected employees were offered. That matters because a performance label carries stigma a strategy label doesn't, and people in the 2025 round worried it would follow them into interviews. Per that round's reporting, the package didn't care about the label.
The details that have separated Meta's rounds from its peers' live in the mechanics. Separation dates have been structured so scheduled vests could land inside the employment window. Healthcare ran six months for whole families in the 2022 through 2025 rounds, and reporting on the May 2026 round described it stretching to eighteen. Visa holders have been assigned dedicated immigration specialists rather than a help desk email. None of that is guaranteed to repeat, but it has repeated so far, and knowing the pattern tells you which questions to ask about your own paperwork.
Recent Meta layoffs
May 2026 · About 8,000 roles, roughly 10% of the company, as 7,000 more moved into AI teams
Reported at 16 weeks plus 2 per year, with health coverage extended to 18 months for employees and dependents. Further cuts were signaled for the second half of 2026.
January 2026 · Up to 1,500 roles in Reality Labs, about 10% of the division
Reported as consistent with the standard 16-plus-2 formula.
Early 2025 · About 3,600 roles, 5% of the company, framed as performance-based
Standard formula reported. Being cut in a performance round doesn't change the package, whatever the framing implies.
2023 · Roughly 10,000 across several waves, the Year of Efficiency
Same structure as the 2022 template.
November 2022 · About 11,000 roles, 13% of the company
16 weeks plus 2 per year with no cap, PTO paid out, RSU vesting through the last day on payroll including the mid-November vest, 6 months of family healthcare, 3 months of career support, dedicated immigration specialists. The round that set the template.
Your stock and equity
In every documented round, RSUs vested through the final day on payroll, and Meta has structured separation dates so an upcoming vest could land inside the employment window, which can be worth more than the cash severance. Check your vest calendar against your proposed separation date before signing.
If you're on a visa
Meta has assigned dedicated immigration specialists to affected visa holders in each major round. If you're on an H-1B, your 60-day grace period starts at termination, and how Meta structures your separation date matters enormously.
Quick answers
Does Meta severance change if the round is called performance-based?
Not in any documented round. The 2025 cuts were framed as performance-based, and reported packages matched the standard 16-plus-2 formula from the 2022 and 2023 rounds. The label has affected how a round was perceived, not what it paid.
Will my next RSU vest count if I'm laid off from Meta?
In every documented round, RSUs vested through the last day on payroll, and separation dates were structured so a near-term vest could land inside the employment window. Check your vest calendar against the separation date in your agreement before signing, because that timing has been worth more than the cash for some people.
How long has Meta covered health insurance after a layoff?
Six months of coverage for the employee and their family in each documented round from 2022 through 2025, and reporting on the May 2026 round described coverage extended to 18 months. Confirm the current term in your own paperwork before counting on it.
What severance has Meta given laid-off employees?
16 weeks + 2 weeks per year (severance formula, every documented round). Reported at 16 weeks plus 2 per year, with health coverage extended to 18 months for employees and dependents. Further cuts were signaled for the second half of 2026. Packages change between rounds, and your separation agreement is the only version that counts.
What happens to my stock if I'm laid off from Meta?
In every documented round, RSUs vested through the final day on payroll, and Meta has structured separation dates so an upcoming vest could land inside the employment window, which can be worth more than the cash severance. Check your vest calendar against your proposed separation date before signing.
Where do I file for unemployment after a Meta layoff?
In the state where you worked, not where the company is headquartered. Meta's biggest U.S. hubs are California, Washington, New York, Texas. Severance usually doesn't block you from filing, and benefits run from your filing date, so file the same week.
Should I sign the severance agreement right away?
Not on the spot. First pin down how much review time you actually have. If you're 40 or older, federal law gives you 21 days to consider an agreement that waives age claims, 45 in a group layoff, and a waiver signed under a shorter deadline can be invalid. If you're under 40, no federal window applies and the deadline in your packet may be real, so confirm it in writing and ask for more time if you need it. Use whatever window you have to read the release terms, especially non-disparagement and no-lawsuit clauses, and don't stall past a real deadline, because offers can be withdrawn.
Can I collect unemployment if I got severance from Meta?
Usually yes, though some states delay benefits until severance pay periods end, and lump sums are treated differently than salary continuation. Check your state's rules on our state benefit pages, and file immediately either way so your claim date is locked in.
Help for people recently laid off from Meta
- File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. Meta's biggest hubs: California, Washington, New York, Texas. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
- Don't sign the severance agreement on the spot. Find out in writing how long you have to review it. At 40 or older, federal law guarantees 21 days, 45 in group layoffs. Under 40, the packet's deadline may be real, so ask for time rather than assume. Read our severance breakdown first. The clauses matter more than the number.
- Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses.
- Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
- Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.