Twenty-six current and former Meta employees have filed a lawsuit alleging the company used artificial intelligence systems to select individuals for layoffs, disproportionately targeting those on medical, parental, or family leave, or with disabilities. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Oakland, California, claims that Meta utilized internal AI tools, keystroke and activity-monitoring data, AI token-usage dashboards, and algorithmically assisted performance rankings to determine who would be laid off. These systems, according to the plaintiffs, generated scores and ratings that employees on protected leave or with reduced output due to disability could not accumulate, leading to their unfair selection for termination.
The lawsuit asserts that Meta did not account for protected leave when calculating employee scores and failed to implement an individualized, leave- and accommodation-neutral review process. The 26 plaintiffs are among the 8,000 employees, or approximately 10% of Meta's workforce, that the company announced it would lay off in May. They are seeking a preliminary injunction to block Meta from completing these layoffs while their claims proceed to private arbitration.
Meta, through a spokesperson, has stated that the claims lack merit and that workforce management decisions are made by people, not AI. The lawsuit highlights Meta's increasing reliance on AI, not only in its product offerings but also in its internal operations and approach to work. This case appears to be the first against a major U.S. company challenging the alleged use of AI in conducting layoffs and also accuses Meta of violating federal and state discrimination laws, as well as failing to test its AI systems for bias as required by new California and New York City laws.
