Meta sued over age bias claims
Former employees have filed lawsuits alleging Meta disproportionately targeted older workers in recent rounds of layoffs, raising fresh legal and reputational risks for big tech. The cases put talent‑management decisions under legal scrutiny and may affect how teams document layoff criteria. ( )
Nicolas Franchet, a former senior director of monetization analytics, filed a wrongful‑termination suit against Meta in San Francisco County Superior Court on March 17, 2026 under case number CGC‑26‑634940. (law.com (law.com)) The complaint says Franchet worked at Meta for about 13 years, was 54 when he was laid off in February 2025, and alleges forfeiture of nearly $12 million in unvested restricted stock units tied to awards given in 2023. (peoplematters.in (peoplematters.in)) The filing anchors its claim on company figures it says were shared with terminated employees, alleging the February 2025 reduction of roughly 5% of Meta’s workforce hit employees 40 and older at 1.5× the rate of younger workers and those 50+ at 2.5× the rate. (techstory.in (techstory.in)) Franchet’s suit alleges he was abruptly downgraded to a “lowest performer” rating just before the cuts and argues those sudden ratings were used to designate targets for termination. (newsbreak.com (newsbreak.com)) The complaint lists age discrimination and wrongful discharge among its claims and identifies Katz Banks Kumin as plaintiff counsel in the action against Meta Platforms, Inc. (law.com (law.com)) The legal filing specifically probes Meta’s internal evaluation and layoff‑selection process and cites internal termination data as evidence—facts that put the company’s documentation practices and performance‑rating trails squarely at issue in early discovery. (techstory.in (techstory.in))
