Meta Sued Over AI Layoff Algorithm That Allegedly Targeted Workers With Disabilities

26 former Meta employees sue, alleging AI systems — not human managers — selected 8,000 workers for termination, disproportionately targeting those with disabilities and medical leave.

Meta is facing a federal lawsuit from 26 former employees who allege the company used a constellation of internal AI systems — not human managers — to select 8,000 workers for termination in May.

Filed in US District Court for the Northern District of California, the complaint claims Meta deployed several AI tools to score, rank, and select employees for layoffs. These included "Metamate," an internal AI assistant, employee-trained "second-brain" agents, keystroke- and activity-monitoring data, and AI-token-usage dashboards.

The suit alleges the AI grading system disproportionately flagged workers with disabilities and those who had taken protected medical or family leave. Employees were reportedly categorized by their level of AI adoption — "AI Native," "AI First," or "AI Enabled" — and those who used Meta's AI tools less frequently received lower scores.

Meta has denied the allegations, stating that human managers made all termination decisions. The case raises a question that is moving from theory to courtroom: when an algorithm decides who stays and who goes, who is accountable?

Sources: The Verge, Ars Technica, Court Filing (PDF)