A US District Judge has ruled that Meta Platforms can proceed with layoffs affecting 8,000 employees, despite legal challenges over alleged AI discrimination. US District Judge William Orrick on Friday denied a temporary restraining order that would have blocked Meta from completing the layoffs while the workers pursue their claims in private arbitration. According to Reuters, the judge noted that the workers were not able to show that losing their jobs at Meta amounted to 'irreparable harm' that would require an emergency order blocking the layoffs. The judge also suggested he could change his mind after receiving more information about the layoffs, with the plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction still pending.
The lawsuit accuses Meta of violating multiple federal and state discrimination laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. The plaintiffs allege Meta relied on factors such as productivity and AI token usage when it slashed thousands of jobs earlier this year, disadvantaging people who missed work because of medical conditions or to care for family members. As reported by Reuters, the company's internal AI-assisted systems included 'Metamate,' a large language model assistant; an employee-trained 'second brain' that tracked workers' communications and documents; and a productivity score drawn from scanning keystrokes, screen content, emails and browser history. According to the 71-page complaint filed by Courthouse News, Meta assembled its termination list using these AI systems rather than direct managerial review, with employees on protected leave having less activity for the systems to measure, effectively penalizing them by producing lower scores that pushed them onto the termination list.
A Meta spokesperson on Tuesday said the claims lack merit, stating that 'Workforce management and organizational decisions were and are made by people, not AI.' According to Reuters, the lawsuit appears to be the first against a major U.S. company to challenge the alleged use of AI in conducting layoffs. The plaintiffs' lawyers argued that workers could lose valuable stock options and health insurance along with their jobs and salaries. Barbara Cowan, one of the plaintiffs' lawyers, told the judge, 'There's no do-over for bonding with a new baby or giving birth or having active medical treatment.' The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge William Orrick, according to Courthouse News.
Meta laid off 10% of its global workforce in May, or nearly 8,000 people, and was planning more job cuts later this year, as reported by Reuters. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has since said that he does not expect any more company-wide layoffs this year. The changes are part of a far-reaching overhaul as the company increases its AI investments and centers AI agents in both its product offerings and its approach to work internally. Simultaneously, Meta moved thousands of employees into newly formed teams dedicated to AI work, as part of its stated effort to reorient the company around the technology. The plaintiffs noted in a joint statement that while the judge denied their request, he also 'recognised that the case raises serious questions' about Meta's conduct, with the court expressly stating it may reconsider its determinations based on additional evidence regarding AI usage in the reduction in force.
