Meta rolls out a generous voluntary exit scheme for its French workforce

In a move that mirrors what Microsoft and Google have been doing, Meta has quietly prepared a voluntary exit programme aimed at a slice of its French staff. The proposal, first reported by the French outlet La Lettre, would let roughly 100 of the 300‑strong team in France opt‑out of their roles in exchange for a fairly generous severance package.

What makes this offer stand out is the math behind the payout. Employees who choose the route would receive a lump‑sum equivalent to 2.15 months of their salary for every year they have been with the company. So, a staffer with five years under their belt could walk away with a little more than ten months of pay – a figure that, by any recent tech‑layoff standard, feels relatively generous.

But the cash isn’t the only perk. The plan also bundles ten months of mobility leave, during which the departing employee would continue to earn 80 % of their gross salary. On top of that, Meta is said to be exploring additional support, such as career‑retraining assistance or even help setting up a new venture.

Unlike the one‑by‑one buyouts that Microsoft and Google have rolled out, Meta’s approach leans on a collective contractual termination process – the French "RCC" – which allows a company to negotiate a workforce reduction with trade unions. Interested workers have until November 5 to submit their applications, according to the report.

The scheme follows a similar, smaller‑scale agreement Meta struck in 2023, which saw 88 employees leave the French office. It also comes on the heels of a broader reshuffle within the tech giant: earlier this year Meta cut about 8,000 jobs worldwide – roughly 10 % of its global headcount – and reassigned another 7,000 staff to AI‑focused roles.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly stressed that AI is changing the way work gets done, often allowing a single person to achieve what once required a whole team. That narrative dovetails with the current wave of voluntary exits across the industry, as companies pour billions into AI infrastructure while trimming headcount to stay lean.

Meta isn’t the only player offering such packages. Canva, for instance, recently announced layoffs that include free MacBooks and LinkedIn Premium subscriptions. Google has extended its own voluntary exit offers to five countries, and Microsoft’s buyout programme touches 60,000 employees across four major markets.

Whether Meta will replicate this French‑centric plan elsewhere remains to be seen. For now, the proposal provides a clear, if modest, safety net for those who decide it’s time to move on.