Meta layoffs: 26 ex-employees sue, allege medical info was used to target them

Facebook-parent Meta taken to court by former employees

Facebook parent company Meta is facing a major legal battle after 26 of its former employees filed a federal lawsuit accusing the social media giant of using biased, AI-powered software to select workers for mass layoffs. The lawsuit filed in a California federal court claims the company’s internal system unfairly targeted vulnerable employees.Citing the plaintiffs, news agency Reuters claims that the company relied heavily on automated performance metrics, including digital productivity tracking and individual AI token usage, when executing its massive job cuts.The workers also argue that using automated tracking inherently disadvantaged employees who had to miss work due to legitimate medical conditions, effectively penalising them for taking time off.

Former employees allege AI discrimination

The legal challenge follows Meta’s cost-cutting measures, where the company announced plans to eliminate 10% of its global workforce, resulting in nearly 8,000 layoffs starting in May.The 26 plaintiffs, who filed the lawsuit anonymously, span six US states, including California and New York as well as the District of Columbia. They accuse Meta of violating federal and state labor laws that strictly prohibit discrimination or retaliation against workers who have disabilities, are pregnant, or take approved family and medical leave.

Meta fires back: ‘Made by people, not AI’

Meta has rejected the allegations with a company spokesperson saying that the legal claims are entirely without merit.“Workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI,” the spokesperson emphasised, denying that automated algorithms hold the ultimate firing power.

Meta CEO admits executive ‘miscalculated’ changes

Last week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg accepted at an internal town hall this week that the company’s sweeping restructuring had not delivered the expected results. Reuters reported that Zuckerberg said the company’s AI agents had not progressed as quickly as anticipated, and that top executives had ‘miscalculated’ the timing of the changes. The restructuring announced earlier this year included laying off about 8,000 employees and reassigning 7,000 staffers to AI-focused teams.At the Townhall, Meta’s CTO Andrew Bosworth also addressed concerns about the company’s controversial mouse-tracking software, which had been paused after reports of sensitive data exposure. Bosworth said a review indicated that no employee data was included in AI training. Bosworth said: “For people who are comfortable, that’s great, they can contribute to this kind of great human survey. To people who are not, it is not an issue.”