Meta

Meta is facing a new lawsuit from some employees. According to the allegation, the company allegedly used AI-based software to identify people with disabilities and/or those who had requested leave for health reasons to select workers for inclusion in the latest wave of mass layoffs. Meanwhile, the company is struggling with the development of AI agents.

Layoffs Selected by AI?

Last May, Meta laid off about 10% of its global workforce, totaling nearly 8,000 people. As clarified by Reuters, there are more layoffs planned in the near future. The allegation, brought forward by 26 employees of the company, states that the company relied on factors such as productivity and the use of AI tokens when it recently cut thousands of jobs, disadvantaging workers who had been absent due to health reasons or to care for family members.

Meta reportedly went as far as monitoring typing, screen content, and emails in addition to browser history, through a dedicated AI, to determine who to lay off and who to retain. For this reason, the affected employees have requested a halt to the layoffs, which is expected to start next week. Further details regarding the lawsuit from the laid-off Meta employees are expected to emerge in the coming weeks.

Meta's Response

A spokesperson for Meta clarified the company's position: "Workforce management and organizational decisions have been and are made by people, not by artificial intelligence."