Techie Fired By Meta To Return To India After 14 Years: 'Last Couple Weeks Have Been Gut-Wrenching'

Meta recently laid off nearly 8,000 employees, cutting roughly 10 per cent of its workforce. Following the announcement, a former employee based in the US said he was forced to make the 'difficult decision' to move his family back to India after 14 years abroad. Sridhar Vanka, who worked as a technical program manager at Meta, explained that his immigration status had expired, which meant he could not stay any longer in America legally.

In a now-viral LinkedIn post. the techie opened up about his seven-week emotional roller coaster ride where he went through various phases.

"Late to the game here but I was impacted by Meta's last round of layoffs in May this year. The clock has now run out on my immigration status here in the US so I have had to make the difficult decision to move my family back to India," Vanka wrote.

"The last approximately 7 weeks have been an emotional roller coaster - optimism, hope, uncertainty, anxiety, heartbreaks and waiting - lots and lots of waiting. I have grown tired of my immigration status fore-shadowing every conversation," he added.

Vanka highlighted that a few exciting opportunities came his way during this time but he could not pursue them due to the ticking immigration clock.

"My family is now wrapping up a life we built here in the US over the last 14 years and looking to start over in Hyderabad starting next week. A lot of wonderful memories and friendships - these last couple of weeks have been gut-wrenching."

Check The Viral Post Here:

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Social Media Reactions

As the post went viral, social media users empathised with Vanka, highlighting that a lot of techies were returning to India due to the ongoing mass layoffs.

"14 years in the US and everything depends on one job. The immigration system is the real problem here," said one user while another added: "I'm sorry to hear this - you will eventually make it, but very hard for family in this situation."

A third commented: "Thank you for sharing this so openly. So many professionals silently go through the uncertainty that comes with immigration deadlines, and your story will resonate with many. Wishing you and your family a smooth landing in Hyderabad."

A fourth said: "As students in India, all of us wrote an essay on "brain drain" at some point. That conversation has evolved today. As immigration policies in the US become more challenging for even highly skilled professionals, many talented people are returning to their home countries."