Meta employees sue over alleged AI-driven layoff decisions

Twenty-six Meta employees have filed a lawsuit accusing the company of using artificial intelligence systems to choose workers for mass layoffs. Meta strongly denied the claim.

The employees are among about 8,000 workers, or roughly 10 percent of Meta's workforce, that Meta said it would lay off in spring as it shifts resources toward its AI agenda.

The lawsuit was filed in Oakland, California, on Monday. It alleges that Meta used AI systems to score, rank and select employees for layoffs instead of relying on managers familiar with their work. The complaint says the system disproportionately targeted workers who were on medical or family leave.

According to the complaint, the AI systems relied on performance ratings, calibration scores, productivity and output metrics. The lawsuit says those markers cannot be built up by employees on medical or family leave and may be reduced for people with disabilities. It alleges that Meta did not pause the system for an individualized review that was neutral toward leave and workplace accommodations.

The complaint says all 26 employees took or requested protected leave, or requested or received a reasonable accommodation for a disability.

A Meta spokesperson was quoted by multiple US outlets, including CNBC and The Verge, as saying that workforce management and organizational decisions were made by people, not AI. A Meta spokesperson also told CNBC by email that the claims lack merit and are not based on facts. Meta did not immediately respond to a separate request for comment.

The source says Meta's cuts are helping fund a large AI infrastructure push, with the company planning to spend up to $145 billion on AI investments this year, nearly twice last year's figure.