Contract workers protest layoffs at Meta’s European headquarters in Dublin

The Story

Contract workers employed by Covalen, a company that provides content moderation and data labeling for Meta, protested outside Meta’s European headquarters in Dublin on Friday. The protest followed Covalen’s announcement in April that 700 jobs were at risk due to “reduced demand,” with many workers facing no severance or only the minimum required under Irish law.

Key Facts

• The workers are employees of Dublin-based Covalen, which handles content moderation and data labeling services for Meta’s AI products.
• Covalen told 700 employees in April that their jobs were at risk, citing “reduced demand.”
• Workers employed for less than two years will receive no severance; others get two weeks’ pay per year of employment, the minimum under Irish law.
• Workers voted to strike and marched from Covalen’s office to Meta’s campus, asking for double the offered severance and an end to a six-month cooldown period preventing them from working on another Meta account.
• Meta spokesperson Erica Sackin said the company would be “reducing our reliance on third-party vendors and strengthening our internal systems,” and that staffing decisions were up to Covalen.
• Covalen did not respond to a request for comment.
• The Communications Workers’ Union (CWU) represents some Covalen employees; organizer John Bohan said Meta could use its leverage as an anchor client to pressure Covalen.
• This is the second Covalen layoff since November; between the two cuts, headcount will be slashed by almost half, according to the CWU.
• The majority of affected workers are data annotators who check AI-generated material for illicit content and test safety guardrails.
• Workers previously held strikes on May 15 and plan escalating industrial action over the next month.
• Irish labor laws do not require employers to recognize a union; Covalen has not recognized the CWU.

Conflicting Reports

No conflicting reports identified in the source article.

Still Unclear

Whether Meta will intervene or change its contractual terms with Covalen; whether Covalen will revise the severance package.

Misconceptions

No widespread misconceptions addressed in the source article.

Key Figures

• Aadel Obaid – team manager at Covalen affected by layoffs
• John Bohan – organizer at the Communications Workers’ Union (CWU)
• Nick Bennett – affected Covalen employee
• Owen O’Reilly – content moderator at Covalen, not at risk but participating in strike
• Amine Mouhouvi – Covalen data annotator affected by layoffs
• Tulio Dias de Assis – quality analyst representing affected workers
• Erica Sackin – Meta spokesperson
• Michael Doherty – professor of law at Maynooth University specializing in labor disputes

Sources: Wired