Meta faces lawsuit in the US after employees allege that artificial intelligence was used to select layoff workers during staff cuts.

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Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp , is facing a new legal battle in the United States after a group of employees accused the company of using artificial intelligence to select employees for layoffs . According to the lawsuit, workers on maternity leave, medical leave, or who had requested accommodations due to disabilities were disproportionately affected during a round of cuts this year.

The lawsuit was filed in the Federal Court of the Northern District of California and involves 26 employees. In addition to challenging the legality of the method adopted by the company, the plaintiffs are requesting a suspension of the layoffs until the case is reviewed by the court.

Artificial intelligence for layoffs is the target of a lawsuit against Meta.

According to the lawsuit, artificial intelligence used for layoffs played a central role in selecting the professionals dismissed during the reduction of approximately 8,000 jobs announced by Meta in early 2026.

Employees claim that the company used a suite of internal artificial intelligence systems to classify employees based on performance indicators, productivity, and activity monitoring. The data considered included computer usage logs, mouse movements, browsing history, and other metrics related to the corporate environment.

According to the lawyers responsible for the lawsuit, the managers did not make the decisions individually , but used scores generated by automated systems to compile the list of layoffs.

According to the document, this model would have harmed professionals who remained absent for reasons protected by labor law, since these employees naturally presented a lower volume of productivity data during the leave period.

Lawsuit alleges that artificial intelligence used for layoffs harmed workers on leave.

The plaintiffs argue that the artificial intelligence used for dismissals ended up penalizing employees who exercised rights guaranteed by law, such as maternity leave, sick leave, and leave related to disabilities.

According to the lawsuit, the systems used by Meta failed to consider the context of these absences when calculating performance indicators. As a result, employees on leave received lower evaluations compared to colleagues who remained active.

Among the cases cited is that of a scientist who had already begun an approved leave of absence before the birth of her child. According to the lawsuit, she received notification of her termination just two days before giving birth.

Another example involves an engineer who claims to have received a reduced performance evaluation after needing to take time off to treat an injury. A manager, meanwhile, reported being informed of his dismissal just 16 days after beginning authorized medical leave.

The employees argue that these situations demonstrate a selection pattern inconsistent with the protections afforded by U.S. law.

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Meta denies using artificial intelligence to decide on layoffs.

Meta has refuted all accusations made by employees. In a statement sent to the press, the company stated that the allegations are unfounded and that decisions related to staffing continue to be made by individuals.

According to the company, artificial intelligence does not determine who will be laid off , although technological tools can support internal management processes.

The company also emphasized that organizational decisions are based on human criteria and denied that automated systems have replaced the evaluation of managers responsible for the teams.

Now, it will be up to the Judiciary to analyze the documents presented by both parties before defining the next steps in the case.

The monitoring program for the Goal also became central to the discussion.

In addition to allegations involving artificial intelligence for layoffs , the lawsuit also questions an internal monitoring program launched by Meta earlier this year.

According to the authors, the initiative collected information such as  keyboard typing , mouse movement, browsing history, corporate messages, emails, and the location of devices used by employees.

At the time of the launch, the company's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg , explained internally that this data would help train the company's own artificial intelligence models.

However, employees claim that the program began without broad communication and without the explicit consent of most teams. According to the process, many employees were not even asked to accept or decline participation in the system.

The negative reaction led more than 1,600 employees to sign a petition alleging a violation of privacy. Subsequently, Zuckerberg announced the suspension of the program in June.

Employees call for independent audit of artificial intelligence for layoffs.

The lawyers also requested that the court order an independent audit of the systems used by Meta .

In the authors' assessment, only a technical investigation can clarify what criteria were used during the selection of the dismissed employees and whether there was an undue impact on workers protected by legal leave.

In addition, the employees are asking the court to temporarily suspend the layoffs while the process is underway.

If they obtain a favorable ruling, they seek reinstatement to their positions, payment of back wages, recovery of benefits, compensation for financial losses, and other rights provided for by law.

Lawyers also warn that the finalization of the layoffs could have irreversible consequences , including loss of health insurance, employee benefits, stock options, and even impacts on the immigration processes of some employees.

Meanwhile, the case broadens the debate about the use of artificial intelligence for layoffs , a topic that is gaining increasing attention from companies, regulators, and  labor law experts in light of the growing adoption of automated systems in human resources management.

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