Dozens of fired Meta employees are writing heart-wrenching 'badge posts' on social media

• Meta employees who were laid off this week are writing "badge posts" on LinkedIn to share memories.
• A "badge post" is a tradition where departing Meta employees post their ID with a goodbye message.

It's a tradition for Meta employees to write "badge posts" when they depart the company.

"A 'badge post' is usually a reflection/appreciation post and what you'll do next you do when you leave Facebook," one former employee wrote on LinkedIn.

Staff on their way out usually upload their "badge posts" to the internal workplace portal, but because they lost access to systems after learning they were laid off, they switched to LinkedIn instead to say farewell and share memories from their time at Meta.

Dozens of former Meta staff have maintained the tradition by posting a photo of their work ID badge along with a note reflecting on their time at the company to the professional networking site.

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"We do something at Meta called a badge post when you leave the company. It is usually a goodbye highlighting all of the things and people you will miss," former Meta client partner Christina Massotti said on LinkedIn. "Of course, this is done when you leave on your own accord."

Previously, some staff used it as an opportunity to criticize the company and share how they really felt.

But after Meta cut 11,000 employees on Wednesday, many of the laid-off workers used their posts to say they were available to hire and to summarize their skills and experience.

Meta employees found out they were laid off by email on Wednesday after Mark Zuckerberg issued a statement indicating that 13% of its workforce would be let go. He apologized to staff for over-investing in Meta and admitted that he "got this wrong."

"Not the badge post I ever imagined doing," former Meta technical sourcer Kate Greentree wrote on LinkedIn. "Yesterday was a sad, dark day for many at Meta. Absolutely gutted to be among those potentially effected, a particularly hard pill to swallow as I am still out on maternity leave. I loved my job so much & the thought of not returning is totally heartbreaking."

Chad Lesher, who was a strategy lead at Meta, wrote: "Officially became a casualty of the mass-layoffs at Meta this morning ... but honestly, I'm not even the least bit salty. Say what you will about social media, Meta, or daddy Zuck himself, but I am SO very grateful for everything this Company has done for me - it's hardly an exaggeration to say that Meta saved my life."

Not all "badge posts" from former Meta staff were so positive, however. At least one person expressed concern over their immigration status after losing their job.

"I have so many people to thank, but unfortunately currently I face strong challenges of finding a H1B job in less than 4 months," former Facebook software engineer Rui Zhu wrote.

Many who worked in recruiting, product, marketing, sales and engineering have been let go, according to lists of former Meta employees compiled by Layoffs.Fyi, a site which tracks layoffs in the tech sector.

Here's a round-up of LinkedIn "badge posts" uploaded by people who were laid off from Meta: