Laundry (illustrative)
Laundry (illustrative)iStock

Employees of Meta, Facebook's parent company, will soon have to take care of the laundry or dry cleaning themselves, as well as cook the meals for themselves.

The New York Times reports that as of March 28, many Meta employees who have worked at home for the past two years since the COVID-19 outbreak are expected to return to office work, and will discover completely different conditions than those they had been accustomed to before the pandemic.

Meta company executives have informed employees of the cancellation of a large portion of the famous benefits packages they have received in recent years. Among other things, company executives announced that the last bus to transport workers to their homes will depart at 6:00 p.m., so the free dinner that was given to them every evening between 6:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. will no longer apply to the vast majority of workers.

Many employees also used to take food home with them from the dinners organized by the company, and now have to cook for themselves at home. In addition, the laundry and dry cleaning services that the employees received as part of their benefits package will be canceled.

The New York Times quoted a number of Meta workers as expressing frustration at canceling the benefits they had enjoyed in recent years, claiming "this would hurt the company's work culture," but one food department employee said the change was intended to stop excessive use of benefits by company employees. "I can honestly say that when our colleagues grab three to ten boxes full of steaks to take home, no one cares about our culture. A decision was made to try and curb some of the exploitation while saving six million boxes on the way."

The employee's remarks were widely supported by other Meta employees, who claimed that some employees had taken advantage of the benefits in unconscionable ways.

TheNew York Times also quoted a Meta spokesman as saying, "With our return to a physical office, we have adapted the services in the workplace to better reflect the needs of our hybrid workforce. We believe people and teams will be more dispersed in the future, and we are committed to building an experience. That will help everyone succeed."