According to CNBC, a coalition of 26 current and former Meta employees sued the social media giant on Monday, alleging that the company used artificial intelligence in a discriminatory manner during a May layoff round that cut 10% of its workforce. The plaintiffs claim Meta violated protected-leave laws and discrimination acts related to pregnancies and disabilities.
The employees allege that Meta's internal AI systems failed to account for approved absences when determining which workers to cut, using metrics such as token consumption and productivity ratings that cannot accumulate during medical or family leave. Meta denied the allegations, stating that "workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI."