Meta accused of using AI to select employees for layoffs

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is facing a lawsuit accusing it of using artificial intelligence to select employees for layoffs. The legal complaint alleges that the tech giant employed an "internal constellation of artificial intelligence systems" to identify workers to be dismissed. A central claim in the 71-page lawsuit, filed in a California federal court, is that these AI systems unfairly penalized employees who had taken parental or medical leave, or requested accommodations for disabilities. The lawsuit asserts that this process led to "discriminatory selection" of employees who had utilized legally protected time off. Meta has strongly refuted these claims. In a statement, the company asserted that "workforce and staffing decisions, yesterday and today, are made by people, not by AI." The company has been undergoing significant workforce reductions for over a year, impacting employee morale. In the spring, Meta eliminated approximately 8,000 positions, nearly 10% of its workforce. These cuts are intended to fund substantial investments, with Meta planning up to $145 billion in capital expenditures for 2026, nearly double the previous year's amount. The company also recently abandoned an internal program that tracked employee mouse movements, clicks, and keystrokes, which had been used for training AI models, following internal backlash.