Meta Sued by Employees Over AI-Driven Layoffs Targeting Sick Leave

A group of 26 former employees has filed a lawsuit against Meta Platforms, accusing the technology giant of using artificial intelligence to target workers on sick leave or with disabilities during its latest round of mass redundancies. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Oakland, California, alleges that the company relied on factors such as productivity and AI usage tokens when selecting thousands of employees for dismissal earlier this year, a mechanism that disadvantaged those absent for medical reasons or to care for family members. The plaintiffs, who were notified of their termination in May and will officially lose their jobs on 22 July, are seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent Meta from finalising the layoffs while pursuing their claims through private arbitration. A Meta spokesperson dismissed the allegations as baseless, stating that workforce and organisational decisions are made by humans, not AI. The case is believed to be the first of its kind against a major US corporation, challenging the use of artificial intelligence in redundancy processes. The layoffs, which affected 10% of Meta’s global workforce, or nearly 8,000 people, are part of a broader restructuring as the company increases investment in AI and integrates AI agents into its products and internal operations. The anonymous plaintiffs allege Meta violated federal and state laws prohibiting discrimination against workers with disabilities, those on medical leave, or pregnant employees, and failed to test its AI systems for bias as required by recently enacted legislation in California and New York City.