Facebook firing staff over $25 meal credit misuse leaves employees divided

Meta's recent termination of employees for allegedly misusing meal credits has sparked mixed reactions among the company workers. While some express sympathy for those fired, others believe the dismissals were justified. The parent company of Facebook and Instagram reportedly terminated the employment of approximately two dozen employees for violating company policy regarding the use of $25 daily meal credits.
According to a report by Business Insider, Meta employees took to the anonymous workplace forum Blind to discuss the recent firings related to meal credit misuse. A poll on the platform, which requires a company email for access, asked employees to respond with whether they were “Safe from Grubgate” or “Affected by Grubgate.”

The Grubhub meal perk is essentially a $25 daily meal credit that is intended to benefit employees working late or in offices without cafeterias. A recent report suggested that this perk was misused by some staff members to purchase non-food items like laundry detergent and wine glasses.
Learning upon this, the company terminated the employment of about a dozen staff. The Business Insider report says that Meta appears to have taken action only against those who repeatedly abused the system. Those who were found to have violated the rules occasionally were reprimanded but not terminated.

“These fools are so lucky… at least they know WHY they got laid off. Imagine having to wonder for the rest of your life where you went wrong,” one wrote, as per the report by Business Insider.
“This action instils fear in employees. Anyone can violate a policy by mistake. It's like taking away your driving licence because you were going 55 instead of 50. I challenge anyone to say that they know ALL the policies this company has,” one employee said.
“It's not weird. They violated a 'follow this rule or you will be terminated' policy, and they were terminated. There is nothing to worry about unless you are also violating company policies. The rules you need to follow to keep your job are all written out for you. Read them,” another one noted.
One Meta employee wrote on the forum that he/ she used their Grubhub credit for a laid-off worker and received a “warning email.”
“My Grubhub account got deactivated first and then my intern account,” the employee said in the forum.
“Although Meta still thinks itself a large company of small entrepreneurship, with the 'year(s) of efficiency,' it's starting to take policy noncompliance of employees more seriously,” another one wrote.
"Should folks [have] done a better risk assessment for their $25 dinners? Likely. Should Meta have requested the employee refund the company, put a block on the benefit, and delivered a one-more-strike-of-any-kind-you-are-out warning? Probably,” another employee added.