A group of 26 current and former employees of Meta filed a lawsuit on July 14, 2026, alleging that the company used artificial intelligence (AI) software to target employees with disabilities and those who took medical or family leave during mass layoffs in May. These layoffs were part of Meta's plan to reduce its workforce by 10%, equating to approximately 8,000 employees, while also closing around 6,000 open positions to focus on AI initiatives.
The lawsuit claims that the termination list was not created through managerial judgment but rather through a performance-ranking system generated by internal AI systems. The plaintiffs argue that the productivity metrics used penalized employees who had exercised their legal right to take leave, as all 26 individuals had requested or been approved for protected leave in the past two years.
The AI tools mentioned in the lawsuit included a dashboard that monitored employee AI usage, as well as tracking keystroke and mouse data, browser history, and messaging. The monitoring program was reportedly announced in an internal post that many employees did not see, lacking proper acknowledgment or consent.
Meta responded to the allegations, stating that workforce management decisions were made by people, not AI. The former employees are seeking a court order to stop their terminations and to have an independent auditor review Meta's layoff selection process.