Meta Layoffs Trigger Job Cuts for 700 Covalen Workers Training AI Models in Ireland

'It's Undignified': Hundreds of Workers Training Meta's AI Could Be Laid Off

Hundreds of workers in Ireland tasked with refining Meta's AI models have been told that their jobs are at risk as the company embarks on a sweeping new round of layoffs, according to documents obtained by WIRED. The affected workers are employed by the Dublin-based firm Covalen, which handles various content moderation and labeling services for Meta. The workers were informed of the layoffs over a brief video meeting on Monday afternoon and were not allowed to ask questions, according to Nick Bennett, one of the employees on the call. "We had a pretty bad feeling [before the meeting]," he says. "This has happened before." In all, more than 700 employees stand to potentially lose their jobs at Covalen, according to an email reviewed by WIRED. Roughly 500 are data annotators. Their job is to check material generated by Meta's AI models against the company's rules barring dangerous and illegal content. "It's essentially training the AI to take over our jobs," claims another Covalen employee, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. "We take actions as the perfect decision for the AI to emulate." Sometimes, the work involves cooking up elaborate prompts to try to bypass guardrails meant to prevent models from serving up child sexual abuse material, say, or descriptions of suicide. "It's quite a grueling job," claims Bennett. "You spend your whole day pretending to be a pedophile." Last week, Meta announced plans to cut one in ten jobs as part of sweeping layoffs aimed at making the company more efficient. A memo circulated by the company reportedly indicated that layoffs were motivated by a need to increase spending on other aspects of the business. Though the memo did not mention AI, the company recently announced plans to nearly double its spending on the technology. In January, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, "I think that 2026 is going to be the year that AI starts to dramatically change the way that we work." In the email reviewed by WIRED, Covalen employees were told only that the layoffs were a result of "reduced demand and operational requirements." The latest round of layoffs marks the second time that Covalen has cut staff in recent months. In November, the company announced plans for job cuts (reportedly to number around 400), culminating in a worker strike. Between the two rounds of layoffs, Covalen's headcount in Dublin is on track to be almost halved, according to the Communications Workers' Union (CWU), whose members include some Covalen staff. For affected Covalen workers, the search for new work will be hampered by a six-month "cooldown period", during which they are unable to apply to a competing Meta vendor, claims the CWU. "It's undignified, you know," says the Covalen employee who asked to remain anonymous. "It's rude." Meta and Covalen did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Unions representing the affected employees are pushing for Covalen to enter negotiations over severance terms. They also hope to meet with the Irish government to discuss how AI is impacting workers in the country. "Tech companies are treating the workers whose labor and data helped build AI as disposable," says Christy Hoffman, General Secretary of UNI Global Union. "To fight back, it's absolutely critical that workers organize and demand notice about the introduction of AI, training linked to employment, and a plan for their futures. Workers should also have the right to refuse to train their AI replacements." But some of those caught up in the layoffs are doubtful of their chances of securing stable employment in a labor market being rehewn in real-time by AI and the deep-pocketed companies leading its development. "It's a universal battle between downtrodden white collar workers and big capital, really," claims Bennett. "That normally only goes one way."

700 fear job cuts at Meta contractor Covalen

Around 400 jobs were at risk at Covalen in November. It is understood that roughly 200 have left the company. A Dublin-based outsourcing company that works on Meta projects is laying off 700 workers, just days after the tech giant announced plans to cut 8,000 jobs. The contractor, Covalen, has confirmed that it has commenced consultation in relation to "potential redundancies within its Dublin operations". It said that it is "engaging directly and proactively" to support the affected teams. Operated by parent company CPL, Covalen offers content moderation, AI training and back office admin services for a variety of industries, including finance, utilities and tech. Alongside its Dublin headquarters, Covalen also operates in Limerick. According to its website, it employs more than 2,500 - up from the roughly 2,000 that SiliconRepublic.com had previously reported. The latest layoffs come just months after 400 Covalen jobs were at risk of being cut in November. It is understood that around 200 workers have left the company as a result of these redundancies. Workers carried out industrial action outside the company's premises in Sandyford Business Park in January over what they described as a "lack of meaningful engagement by Covalen management" regarding, among other things, improved redundancy packages. In a statement yesterday (27 April), the Communications Workers' Union (CWU) said that Covalen workers would not "pay the price for Meta's AI ambitions". The Union has asked Covalen for direct negotiations, fair redundancy packages, and an audience with Taoiseach Micheál Martin, TD, and the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke, TD. The group also wants Meta to drop its six-month "cooling-off" period for other Meta vendors. "We know the real reason behind these cuts. Meta is shedding thousands of jobs worldwide, cutting staff and tearing up vendor contracts simply to pay for its massive new Artificial Intelligence bills," said Ian McArdle, CWU's Deputy General Secretary. Last week, Meta said that it is cutting 10pc of its global workforce. In a memo, the company's chief people officer said that the cuts would help "run the company more efficiently" and allow it to "offset the other investments" it's making. Affected employees are set to hear from the Facebook-parent on 20 May. It is unclear how many of Meta's 1,800 direct employees in Ireland would be laid off. Meta isn't alone in its decision to cut its workforce in response to AI. In recent months Block has cut 4,000 jobs; Oracle, about 10,000; Amazon has cut 30,000; Atlassian, 10pc of its workforce; and Snap, about 16pc. According to the tracking site Layoffs.fyi, more than 90,000 tech employees have been laid off in 2026 so far. A joint report published by the Economic and Social Research Institute and the Department of Finance this month has found that AI adoption in Ireland is likely to lead to job losses, especially concentrated among highly educated workers. This, it said, is expected to lead to increases in income inequality in the "short to medium term", driven by job displacement among those who've lost their jobs, potential wage increases for those who become more productive using AI, and increased returns to capital investment. Meanwhile, last week, the Taoiseach said that there could be a "significant upheaval in the jobs market over the next decade". Officials have been asked to "identify the implications and impact of AI on the world of work", he added. "We urgently need real government intervention around AI-related job losses, not just 'proposals' and assessments. Tech companies cannot be allowed to discard hundreds of workers overnight to fund AI without strict government oversight," McArdle commented. Don't miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic's digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.