A group of 26 former Meta employees is suing the company over claims that it used AI tools to unfairly target workers on protected leave with layoffs. The lawsuit alleges Meta determined which workers to dismiss based on performance data collected by internal AI tools, but failed to exclude those on parental or medical leave from its ranking system.
The layoffs occurred in May as part of Meta's plans to slash 10 percent of its staff, or around 8,000 workers. According to the lawsuit, Meta used an internal AI assistant called Metamate, employee-trained AI agents, internal dashboards displaying AI token usage, and other tools to score, rank, and select employees for inclusion on the termination list.
The lawsuit accuses Meta of violating federal and state laws preventing employers from terminating workers for taking protected leave. Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton denied the claims, stating: "These claims lack merit and are not based on facts. Workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI."