Top News

Ex-Meta employee accuses company of racial bias in layoffs
24 May 2026

A former Meta employee, Jeremy Bernier, has accused the tech giant of racial discrimination in its layoff process.

The allegation comes after Bernier was one of the 8,000 employees laid off by Meta on May 20.

He took to the social media platform X to share his experience at Mark Zuckerberg's company.

Bernier's allegations of racial discrimination
Discrimination claims

Bernier alleged that he was part of a team where "90% of his coworkers were Chinese," and non-Chinese employees were often excluded, disadvantaged, and targeted for layoffs.

He specifically pointed out teams in ads and MRS as being "notorious for being Chinese-dominated."

Despite non-Chinese employees being the vast minority, he observed that six out of seven layoffs targeted them.

Comparison to Huawei's hypothetical situation
Cultural comparison

Bernier drew a parallel between his experience at Meta and a hypothetical scenario at Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

He wondered how Chinese citizens would react if entire organizations and leadership chains were dominated by Japanese people who spoke Japanese without considering that their Chinese coworkers didn't understand.

This comparison was made to highlight the cultural dominance he felt within Meta's teams.

Use of Mandarin in informal conversations
Isolation experiences

Bernier complained about the use of Mandarin in informal conversations at work, which left non-Chinese employees feeling isolated.

He said that formal meetings were mostly held in English, but immediately after, everyone would switch to Mandarin.

This made him feel excluded from team bonding activities such as lunches and dinners, where he was often the only non-Chinese person present.

Suggestions for Meta leadership
Inclusivity measures

Bernier urged Meta leadership to take stronger action on inclusivity and workplace culture.

He suggested implementing English-speaking policies in the office, investigating discrimination complaints, and ensuring more diverse teams.

However, he expressed skepticism that meaningful change would occur as long as the entire leadership chain up to the VP level is dominated by the same ethnicity, language, and culture.