Meta offers voluntary exits to French employees as tech layoffs continue

Meta has reportedly joined Microsoft and Google in offering voluntary exit packages to employees as major technology companies continue to reshape their workforces. The Mark Zuckerberg-led company is proposing the scheme for its French workforce, with around 100 of its 300 employees in the country potentially affected, according to French publication La Lettre.

The move comes amid a wider shift across the technology industry, where companies are reorganising teams while increasing investment in artificial intelligence (AI).

Unlike individual voluntary exit offers made by some other technology companies, Meta's French proposal uses a collective contractual termination procedure.

Meta's France exit package: What employees could receive

According to La Lettre, Meta is offering employees compensation equivalent to 2.15 months of salary for every year of service. Eligible employees would also receive 10 months of mobility leave, paid at 80 per cent of their gross salary.

The proposed arrangement is based on a French procedure known as rupture conventionnelle collective (RCC). It allows employers and employees to agree to departures under a collective agreement, rather than relying on a conventional economic redundancy process.

The report said discussions around the proposal had been under way since July. Employees interested in the scheme were required to submit applications by November 5. However, the specific roles affected and the final number of departures remain unclear.

Will Meta extend voluntary exits to other countries?

Meta employs approximately 66,000 people globally, but there is no confirmation that the company plans to introduce the same arrangement in other regions. The French proposal is also different from voluntary departure programmes in which employees can individually decide whether to accept an offer. It depends on a collective agreement and the applicable French employment procedure. For now, the reported plan is limited to Meta's workforce in France.

Google, Microsoft and other tech firms follow similar paths

Meta's reported move comes as other major technology companies introduce workforce exit programmes. Google has extended voluntary exit offers to employees in five countries, while Microsoft has announced a buyout programme for around 60,000 eligible employees across the US, Canada, India and the UK. Canva has also offered severance packages to 1,271 employees affected by layoffs, according to the supplied report. The workforce changes are unfolding alongside heavy investments in AI. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously highlighted how AI tools could allow individual employees to complete projects that once required large teams. The developments point to a changing technology workforce, where companies are reassessing staffing needs while investing in new AI capabilities. However, the reported French exit scheme alone does not establish that AI is the direct reason for the proposed departures.