SAN FRANCISCO: Twenty-six former Meta employees have filed a lawsuit accusing the technology company of using artificial intelligence to help select workers for layoffs, alleging the system disproportionately affected employees on medical or family leave. Meta has denied the claims.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday in Oakland, California, stems from the company’s announcement earlier this year to cut around 8,000 jobs—about 10 percent of its workforce—as it redirects resources toward its artificial intelligence strategy.
According to the complaint, Meta used AI systems to “score, rank, and select employees” for layoffs instead of relying on managers familiar with employees’ work performance.
The plaintiffs allege the AI evaluated workers using performance ratings, calibration scores, productivity, and output metrics, which they argue unfairly disadvantaged employees who had taken protected medical or family leave or received disability accommodations.
The lawsuit claims Meta failed to conduct the individualised, leave-neutral reviews required under US law before making layoff decisions.
All 26 plaintiffs had either taken or requested protected leave or sought workplace accommodations due to disabilities, according to the complaint.
Meta has rejected the allegations.
“Workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI,” a Meta spokesperson said in statements quoted by several US media outlets, including CNBC and The Verge.
The spokesperson also told CNBC that the allegations “lack merit and are not based on facts.”
Meta has not publicly commented further on the lawsuit.
The layoffs come as the company significantly increases spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure, with plans to invest up to US$145 billion in AI this year—nearly double its spending in the previous year.
Comment