Meta accused of using AI systems to choose 8,000 layoff targets
A federal complaint says Meta relied on internal AI systems to rank employees for layoffs, affecting disabled workers and those who took protected leave.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
2 min read
Twenty-six employees selected for termination have sued Meta, alleging the company used internal artificial intelligence systems to help decide which workers would be laid off. The complaint says the process affected 8,000 employees and unlawfully singled out workers with disabilities and those who had taken protected medical or family leave.
The case was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California by 26 unnamed plaintiffs identified as Doe employees. Their complaint claims Meta did not rely on managers familiar with employees’ work to build the termination list.
Instead, the lawsuit says Meta used several internal systems to evaluate, rank and select workers. Those systems allegedly included an internal tool called “Metamate,” employee-trained “second-brain” agents, keystroke and activity data, AI-token-use dashboards, and algorithmic tools tied to performance ranking and calibration.
The employees allege Meta’s use of those tools made AI adoption part of the layoff process. The complaint says internal dashboards sorted employees based on their use of Meta’s artificial intelligence tools, with labels including “AI Native,” “AI First” and “AI Enabled.”
The lawsuit frames those internal measurements as more than workplace analytics. It alleges they were used in the decision-making system that determined which employees would lose their jobs, including workers protected by disability and leave laws.
The plaintiffs claim the layoffs targeted employees with disabilities and employees who used protected medical or family leave. The complaint does not describe those employees by name because the plaintiffs filed as Does, but it says all 26 were selected for termination.
The case adds to scrutiny over how employers use automated tools in personnel decisions. The complaint’s central claim is that Meta’s internal AI and data systems played a direct role in selecting workers for layoffs, rather than serving only as background information for human review.
Meta is accused in the filing of using algorithmic scoring and ranking as part of a system that shaped the termination list. The employees argue that this process harmed protected groups, including disabled workers and those who took leave covered by law.
The allegations remain claims in a civil lawsuit. The complaint asks the federal court to consider whether Meta’s layoff process, as described by the plaintiffs, violated worker protections by using AI-linked metrics and internal monitoring tools to select employees for termination.
This story draws on original reporting from Ars Technica.