Meta lays off a third of its jobs in France while it invests nearly 150 billion in AI

135 to 145 billion dollars in AI, but around a hundred French employees leaving. Meta is preparing its voluntary departure plan, with compensation that will turn heads.

For years, we had been warned that artificial intelligence would create more jobs than it would destroy, and that the remaining jobs would work in communion with this technology. Meta has also announced that it will spend $135 to $145 billion on artificial intelligence this year, but at what cost? Jobs will disappear, starting with those located in France.

The daily La Lettre rightly explains that Meta is actively preparing a collective contractual termination (RCC) within its French subsidiary. Since July, the company has been negotiating with its employees and their representatives to establish the details of this plan. “We are doing this as part of our ongoing effort to manage the business more efficiently and to offset other investments we are making,” explained Janelle Gale, Meta’s human resources director. “This is not an easy compromise, and it will mean parting ways with people who have made significant contributions to Meta.”

Unlike a classic restructuring phase, the RCC is a system specific to French law which allows a company to reduce its workforce solely on a voluntary basis, without resorting to economic layoffs. Employees will not simply be fired randomly, but rather encouraged to resign. Meta plans to say goodbye to nearly one in three French employees, representing around a hundred “resigning” employees.

To encourage its employees to choose the path of resignation, Meta offers them compensation representing 2.15 months of salary per year of seniority. For example, for an employee who has 10 years of seniority for a gross monthly salary of 5,000 euros, Meta would offer 107,500 euros in compensation, or 8.6 times the legal minimum for this bracket. As the compensation is part of a RCC, it is also exempt from taxes.

AI is the most consequential technology of our lifetime. Success is not guaranteed. Companies that lead the way will define the next generation. –Mark Zuckerberg

In addition to this compensation, Meta promises them ten-month mobility leave, a system also provided for by the Labor Code for RCC agreements. The employee can then remain with the company during this period of leave, during which they receive 80% of their gross salary, all tax-exempt. Here too, it is higher than the legal minimum which is 65% of the average gross remuneration over the last 12 months. At the end of this leave, the employee's contract will be terminated by mutual agreement and, if he has not found a job, he will be able to claim, under certain conditions, benefit.

Machine-translated from French