Hundreds of workers in Ireland who have been refining Meta's artificial intelligence models are now facing potential layoffs, according to internal documents obtained by WIRED. The employees, employed through contractor Covalen, were told their jobs are at risk as part of Meta's broader cost-cutting measures.
The layoffs, which could affect more than 700 people, have sparked outrage among workers who describe the situation as "undignified." The workers are responsible for training and improving Meta's AI systems, a critical task for the tech giant's push into generative AI and smart assistants.
"It's undignified to be treated this way after dedicating months to training their AI," one worker told WIRED, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. The employees were reportedly given little notice and minimal severance.
Meta has not publicly commented on the specific layoffs, but the move aligns with the company's ongoing restructuring, which has eliminated thousands of jobs across the organization since 2023. Critics argue that the layoffs highlight a pattern of tech companies outsourcing sensitive AI work to contractors, then discarding them without the protections afforded to full-time employees.
The news comes as Meta continues to invest heavily in AI, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently announcing plans to expand AI capabilities across its platforms. The contradiction between investing in AI while laying off the very workers who train those systems has not gone unnoticed.
"These workers are the backbone of Meta's AI ambitions," said a labor rights advocate. "Treating them as disposable sends a troubling message about the industry's values."