Meta used AI to target workers with medical conditions for layoffs, lawsuit claims

Twenty-six Meta Platforms employees have filed a lawsuit alleging that the company used artificial intelligence-assisted systems to select workers for layoffs in a way that disproportionately affected people with disabilities, medical conditions or caregiving responsibilities.

The case was filed in federal court in Oakland, California, on Monday. The employees, who were told in May that their jobs would be eliminated from July 22, are seeking a preliminary court order to pause the dismissals while their claims proceed through private arbitration.

According to the complaint, Meta considered factors including productivity scores and employees’ use of AI tokens when drawing up termination lists. The workers argue that these measures disadvantaged staff who had missed work because of medical leave, pregnancy, disabilities or the need to care for family members.

Meta rejected the allegations, saying workforce and organisational decisions were made by people rather than artificial intelligence.

The plaintiffs, who filed anonymously, are from six states, including California and New York, as well as the District of Columbia.

They accuse Meta of violating federal and state laws protecting employees from discrimination or retaliation based on disability, medical leave and pregnancy. They also allege that the company failed to test its AI systems for bias as required under recently introduced laws in California and New York City.

The lawsuit says Meta used several internal AI-assisted tools to evaluate employees. These allegedly included Metamate, a large language model assistant; an employee-trained system described as a second brain that tracked communications and documents; and a productivity score based on keystrokes, screen activity, emails and browser history.

The case appears to be the first legal challenge against a major US company over the alleged use of artificial intelligence in selecting employees for layoffs.

Meta cut 10% of its global workforce in May, equivalent to nearly 8,000 jobs, as part of a broader restructuring linked to increased investment in artificial intelligence and greater use of AI agents in its products and internal operations.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has since said he does not expect further company-wide layoffs this year.