Meta Layoffs May 20: 24-Hour Checklist — What to Do Before the Email Arrives

# Meta Layoffs May 20: 24-Hour Checklist — What to Do Before the Email Arrives

> **Quick answer:** Meta sends layoff notifications at 4am local time on Wednesday, May 20, 2026. In the next 24 hours, you need to back up personal contacts and portfolio work from your work devices, screenshot your vesting schedule, move personal files to personal storage, and have a financial plan ready to activate the moment the email lands. Do NOT sign any severance agreement on day one — you have 21 days (if you're 40+) or a reasonable window to review.

If you work at Meta and you're reading this on May 19, you have one day. The notifications go out Wednesday at 4am local time — and when that calendar invite from "MetaHR" lands in your inbox, your work computer access may be restricted within minutes. Everything you need to protect — contacts, code samples, performance reviews, equity details — needs to be secured before that moment.

This is not a guide about processing the grief of a layoff (though that's real and valid). This is the operational checklist you need right now, ranked by urgency.

## What Happens at 4am Wednesday: The Exact Sequence

Meta's internal documents, reported by U.S. News on May 18, confirm the layoffs execute in three batches globally, with notifications going out at 4am local time in each region. The teams most exposed: Reality Labs, Facebook social products, recruiting, sales, and global operations.