Facebook (now known as Meta) canceled job offers for international engineers just weeks before they moved to London to start their jobs, according to employees. One recruit who lost his job before it even began was told the decision was made due to “economic conditions.”
“There was nothing that suggested they were rethinking their decision, so it came as a shock,” one recruit told Business Insider. “They called me on a Monday, and my flight was supposed to be on Friday.”
The software worker had just packed his bags and was ready to move to London for a “life-changing opportunity” when he received the call. At the time of the call, he was set to start work in three weeks.
The recruit, who hails from North Africa, added that he was part of the company’s “Discover Production Engineering” program, which Facebook advertises as a 12-month program that provides engineering training to people with non-traditional backgrounds.
The North African tech employee also told Business Insider that viewed working at Facebook as a “dream come true,” and believed the company’s program would be the catalyst for future opportunities, as he had yet to obtain a “real software engineer role.”
A second Facebook recruit from Italy told the outlet that he had turned down job offers from Amazon and Skyscanner to work at Mark Zuckerberg’s company as part of the company’s Discover Production Engineering program.
“Everything was planned, and I basically uprooted my life. I left my job, and I left my apartment,” the Italian engineer said, adding that he was then informed by a recruiter that his job offer was rescinded due to “economic conditions.”
“I was interested in working at Meta for the prestige, the compensation, and the interesting engineering challenges, but after seeing how unfocused leadership is, and the fact that they clearly don’t seem to care about their employees and their future employees,” he said.
The canceled job offers arrive amid CEO Mark Zuckerberg announcing a hiring freeze and warning that layoffs may be coming.
As Breitbart News previously reported, Facebook’s woes reflect a wider economic downturn that has affected all tech companies.
Amazon, for example, recently had to walk back an expected pay rise for corporate employees, blaming a computer glitch for miscalculating pay levels. The company also warned managers that they may need to have “uncomfortable” conversations with employees.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.