Tech workers feel jilted and betrayed by how firms like Meta and Google handled layoffs. HR professionals say the issue isn't malice, it's just poor planning.

• Laid off tech workers feel like they were treated poorly by their ex-employers after years of loyalty.

• Ex-Googlers and Meta employees say they were laid off while on maternity leave or suddenly got locked out of systems.

• HR consultants told Insider that many companies are ill-prepared for the logistics of mass layoffs.

Why do the recent round of layoffs in tech seem especially brutal?

In March, a group of over 1,400 Googlers petitioned CEO Sundar Pichai to show workers respect and to not "Be Evil" as the company cuts its workforce by 12,000. The outcry came after a number of former employees publicly shared how they felt the company handled their dismissals in a distinctly un-Google-y way.

Some discovered they were laid off while on parental leave. Current employees said they learned colleagues were let go when emails to them bounced back.

Then there's the matter of severance packages: some ex-employees begged the company to honor their approved parental leave or paid-time off, while others lamented the miscalculations of their stock options.

These unfortunate situations are part of a growing chorus of laid-off tech workers across the industry who feel they're being given the cold-shoulder by their once-beloved employer. When Meta started its first round of mass layoffs in November, some employees realized their fate when they couldn't log back into their laptops while working from home. One laid-off Meta employee described the experience as "cold" and "impersonal."

After years of pampering — some would say spoiling — their employees, why is it that the layoffs have been handled in such an impersonal way that leaves workers feeling alienated?

Insider spoke with three human resources consultants about the way companies perform layoffs. Consultants said some of what we saw in the layoffs is part of a well-planned strategy, while the rest is likely an oversight. And in the case of Google and Meta, who have never done mass layoffs before, some of it can be chalked up to inexperience.

"There are a volume of people that need to be communicated with about the company's decision. And most companies are ill-prepared to deal with the logistics around that," said David Lewis, CEO of OperationsInc, a human-resources consulting company.

No plan is flawless

Companies usually plan weeks or months in advance of any layoff announcements.

Once the finance department determines that steep cost cutting measures are in order, leadership meets with HR, legal, and consulting teams to devise a plan of action. They'll try a hiring freeze and limit travel, among other relatively easy money-saving measures. But when that doesn't work, they'll try the quickest route: reduce the workforce, said Jaime Klein, CEO of Inspire Human Resources.