Former employees of Meta have filed lawsuit against Meta accusing it of using AI-powered software that disproportionately targeted people with disabilities or who took medical leave in selecting people for mass layoffs.
Twenty-six former employees of Meta have filed a lawsuit against the tech company. The lawsuit has been filed in Oakland, California, federal court. It alleged that the company relied on factors such as productivity and AI token usage when it began slashing thousands of jobs earlier this year, disadvantaging people who missed work because of medical conditions.
The lawsuit has been filed by 26 plaintiffs anonymously, and are accusing Meta of violating federal and state laws that ban discrimination or retaliation against workers who have disabilities, take medical leave or are pregnant, Reuters said in a report.
The plaintiffs come from six states, including California and New York plus the District of Columbia.A Meta spokesperson on Tuesday said the claims lack merit, it added.
“Workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI,” the Meta spokesperson said.
Facebook parent had shared plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and walk away from 6,000 roles it had been looking to fill, all in a bid to free up cash for its growing AI ambitions.
The company had more than 78,000 employees on its books at the end of 2025. Janelle Gale, Meta’s chief people officer, broke the news to staff in an internal memo that did not sugarcoat things.
A Singapore-based Meta employee has captured massive attention online after sharing how abruptly his nearly decade-long journey at the tech giant came to an end. Gary Tay, who worked as an AdTech Business Support Engineer, shared on LinkedIn that he was laid off just one day after onboarding and training a new teammate.
Meta Used AI To Target Employees On Medical Leave for Layoffs, Says Lawsuit
