A former employee of Meta has described the deep emotional distress she experienced after being laid off during the company’s 2023 job cuts, saying the moment left her unable to function and burdened by a quiet sense of personal failure, despite a track record of strong performance.
The woman, who spent close to five years at the company, told Business Insider that the decision came without warning and stood in sharp contrast to her internal reviews. “I was a high performer with strong reviews and recognition. The layoff was a shock. I felt ashamed, embarrassed, and didn’t want to tell anyone, it felt like I’d done something wrong,” she said.
Her reaction, she explained, was immediate and overwhelming. At the time, she was also dealing with a divorce and other personal challenges, which compounded the impact of the job loss. When the layoff time arrived, she withdrew. She avoided conversations, delayed responding to messages, and struggled to articulate what had happened. “For a while, I was paralysed, unable to think about next steps or explain myself,” she said.
Rather than seeking support, she chose to keep the news to herself. The hesitation was not driven by a lack of options, but by a lingering belief that the layoff said something about her competence. The sense of embarrassment, she said, made it difficult to reach out even to close contacts.
In hindsight, she describes that period as one where the emotional impact of the layoff outweighed the professional consequences. The loss of routine and identity, combined with existing personal strain, left her in a state where even basic decision-making felt difficult. While peers and family encouraged her to apply for new roles, she found the suggestions hard to process.
“It felt too overwhelming,” she said, recalling how well-meaning advice to “move on” only added pressure during a time when she was still trying to understand what had happened.
Over time, she began to reassess the situation, but not before what she describes as a prolonged pause. The initial weeks were defined less by action and more by inertia, an inability to plan, respond, or engage with opportunities. That delay, she said, also had practical consequences. She did not immediately secure copies of her performance reviews or reach out for recommendations, forcing her to revisit former colleagues later under less certain conditions.
She also acknowledged that she waited too long to activate her professional network. “One mistake I made was letting fear and shame paralyze me. I waited too long to ask for support,” she said, adding that the delay limited her visibility into available roles and slowed her return to the job market.
The experience led her to question long-held assumptions about performance and job security. She said the layoff forced her to confront the idea that outcomes in the workplace are not always tied directly to individual effort. “Jobs are contracts, they are not a reflection of your worth,” she said.
