Meta in Spanish lawsuit over mass content moderator layoffs

BARCELONA - A Spanish union demanded on Sept 15 that a court cancel the redundancies of more than 2,000 staff who worked for a company tasked with moderating content for Meta.

Canadian tech firm Telus International, which operated locally as CCC Barcelona Digital Services, slashed the jobs in 2025, citing the end of its contract with the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Some 2,062 workers were laid off in a package agreed with the main unions.

But minority union FIST launched a lawsuit against Telus and Meta, alleging before a Barcelona court that the layoffs were an “attack and a retaliation against the workers’ exercising of their basic rights”.

According to the lawsuit, more than half of the affected workers had started legal action for alleged “salary discrimination” based on language and origin, as the moderators’ wages varied according to their working language.

Some employees had also taken legal action complaining of the psychological toll caused by constant exposition to violent content, the lawsuit added.

FIST, which wants the redundancies declared null and the staff rehired, rejects the economic reasons for the layoffs, saying Telus continues to offer services elsewhere in Europe.

Lawyers representing Meta and Telus told the court the decision was taken on economic grounds after Meta terminated the contract covering the Barcelona-based staff.

“The relationship between Meta and CCC is purely commercial,” said Paula Talavera, lawyer for the US tech giant’s Irish subsidiary, rejecting FIST’s allegation that the companies formed a “corporate network”.

The court did not give a timeframe for announcing its decision.

Telus had provided content moderation for Meta in Barcelona since 2018. Its staff revised content in Spanish, Catalan, French, Dutch, Hebrew and Portuguese.

AFP is involved in a partnership with Meta providing fact-checking services in Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Africa. AFP