Amid news of Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet’s major voluntary buyout programme dominating the Big Tech narrative, Mark Zuckerberg-led social media conglomerate Meta has reportedly taken the same path by offering voluntary exit packages to employees in France, leveraging generous severance deals to reduce their workforces as the industry undergoes a major restructuring in the middle of a massive AI spending binge.
According to a report by French publication La Lettre, Meta is considering a voluntary exit scheme that could affect around 100 of its 300 employees in France.
Unlike the individual voluntary departure options offered by Microsoft and Google, Meta’s proposal is reportedly based on a collective contractual termination procedure, known in France as RCC. Under the European country’s labour laws, the mechanism allows companies to negotiate voluntary workforce reductions with trade unions.
Employees interested in the proposed scheme reportedly have been given until November 5 to submit their applications.
La Lettre didn’t disclose whether Meta plans to extend similar offers to employees in other countries.
The company has around 66,000 employees globally.
Meta had previously entered into a collective contractual termination agreement in France in 2023.
The arrangement was expected to lead to the departure of 88 employees from its French workforce, which four years back comprised around 350 people.
Under the proposed terms, employees opting for voluntary departure would receive severance equivalent to 2.15 months of salary for every year of service.
The package would also include 10 months of mobility leave, during which employees would be paid 80% of their gross salary.
Meta is reportedly considering additional assistance for employees looking to retrain professionally or start their businesses.
If implemented as reported, the offer would rank among the more generous severance packages announced by technology companies in recent months.
In fact, Meta’s proposals, like additional assistance for employees looking to retrain professionally or start their own businesses, if approved by the social media conglomerate’s top leadership, would follow the same trend seen in Canva’s recent layoffs affecting 1,271 employees, with the web-based and mobile graphic design platform’s severance package reportedly including free MacBooks and LinkedIn Premium subscriptions.
Meta has been in the news for its aggressive workforce changes this year.
In April, the company announced plans to cut around 8,000 jobs, accounting for approximately 10% of its global workforce. In May, it decided to reassign 7,000 employees to roles linked to AI.
Zuckerberg has previously said that artificial intelligence (AI) is enabling individual employees to complete projects that would earlier have required entire teams.
On its investments in AI infrastructure, Meta expects capital expenditure of USD 135 billion to USD 145 billion in 2026.
It is also expanding its focus on personal AI agents through Muse.
To fund its AI spending binge, Meta has also tapped US dollar and euro bond markets simultaneously.
It is raising USD 15 billion through a five-part US dollar bond offering, which comprises USD 3.25 billion of notes due in 2031 carrying a 5.85% coupon and another USD 3.25 billion due in 2033 at 6.25%, according to a regulatory filing.
Meta previously tapped debt markets with a USD 25 billion investment-grade bond sale in April and a USD 30 billion offering last year, underscoring its growing use of external financing to fund long-term AI investments.
Meta has already expanded plans for what could become a USD 97.5 billion equity raise, highlighting the scale of funding the company is seeking for AI infrastructure.
While Moody’s assigned the new debt an Aa3 rating, it expects the social media conglomerate to maintain conservative financial policies and a positive net cash position despite rising AI spending.
Meta’s total debt stood at USD 83.67 billion, as of September 30, according to data compiled by LSEG.
On the euro bond front, Meta has received a record 53 billion euro (USD 59.52 billion) in investor orders.
As per the Bloomberg news, through its debut euro-bond sale, Meta is seeking to raise as much as nine billion euro.
“The euro debt is being offered in six parts. with maturities ranging from just over four years to more than 38 years,” the report said.
Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are managing the euro bond transaction.