Meta is being sued by former employees who accuse the company of having used an artificial intelligence system to define which workers would be fired. According to the authors of the action, the tool would have disproportionately harmed people with disabilities, those on sick leave or on leave due to pregnancy.
Meta is accused of using AI to choose fired employees
Meta is being sued by former employees who accuse the company of having used an artificial intelligence system to define which workers would be fired. According to the authors of the action, the tool would have...
According to Reuters, the lawsuit was filed in California by a group made up of 26 former company employees.
In the action, they claim that the software would have analyzed criteria such as productivity and use of artificial intelligence “tokens”. In the opinion of former workers, this model would have placed employees who needed to be absent for health reasons at a disadvantage.
The plaintiffs contend that Meta violated state and federal laws that prohibit discrimination or retaliation against employees with disabilities, on sick leave or during pregnancy.
The company rejected the accusations. In a note sent to Reuters, a spokesperson stated that decisions related to the cuts were made by people, and not by automated systems.
“Workforce management and organizational decisions have been and continue to be made by people, not artificial intelligence,” stated Meta.
Meta announced cuts of 8 thousand employees
In May, the company reported that it intended to lay off around 8,000 people, equivalent to approximately 10% of its workforce. At the time, the company indicated that new cuts could occur throughout 2026.
According to Business Insider, Meta also plans to transfer around 7,000 employees to projects linked to the development of applications and artificial intelligence tools.
In an internal message, the company stated that the reduction in staff would help offset resources allocated to other areas considered priorities.
“As we said previously, we decided to reduce the number of employees to compensate for other investments we are making,” informed the company.
Meta also thanked the dismissed workers and highlighted their contribution to the group's trajectory.
"We want to say again that we are grateful for your contributions. The impact of each one on Meta was important for our history", he declared.
The company estimates expenses of between US$162 billion and US$169 billion in 2026, with a significant portion of resources allocated to artificial intelligence.
CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has already stated that Meta's priority is to occupy a prominent position in the transition to a new technological phase.
“Artificial intelligence is the most important technology of our time,” wrote Zuckerberg. “Success is not guaranteed. The companies that are at the forefront will define the next generation.”
Goal doubles to more than $50 billion investment in AI megadata center in Louisiana
The company increased its investment in a mega data center in Louisiana from US$27 billion to more than US$50 billion, which will have a capacity of 5 gigawatts and will be aimed at developing artificial intelligence technologies.
Source:
Noticias ao Minuto - Tech
