Former Meta staff and current executives say the company's formal no-rehire list sometimes blackballs capable veterans for arbitrary or petty reasons that are virtually impossible to overcome.

Meta (META) has been wrapped up in controversy over the past few weeks. The tech giant, which owns Facebook and Instagram, recently faced criticism over how it conducted its recent job cuts, which kicked off in mid-February.

Meta maintains an internal “do not rehire” list of former employees who are not welcome back at the company — even on the recommendation of a vice president, according to a report. A former Meta engineer who was among the 10,