AI may be the money maker in 2025, but AI-based workers are not immune to layoffs. Around 200 of Google’s AI contract workers have been fired in the last month, according to recent reports. The 200 AI contractors were reportedly cut amidst pay disputes and complaints of poor working conditions at Google. The cuts have been witnessed among third-party workers who help refine the company’s AI tools and infuse it with a context-aware understanding of raw data. Just this week, we saw similar cuts among xAI’s data annotators, which shows that working in AI does not exempt workers from cuts, despite the prominence of this technology.
New reports revealed that over 200 Google AI contract workers were fired amidst disputes over pay and grueling working conditions. (Image: Pexels)
Over 200 Google AI Contract Workers Fired Amidst Unrest over Pay and Working Conditions
The news that Google contractors have been laid off came from a Wired report that identified some of the sweeping changes that have been made at the tech giant recently. According to the data, Google has spent the last few years outsourcing its AI rating work to businesses like GlobalLogic and many others. These raters are tasked with aiding Google’s AI products in developing a more nuanced understanding of the raw data and its interpretations for user responses.
Content moderation jobs are a very important part of the AI content generation cycle, and help refine the tools to perform better and with greater accuracy, minimizing the chance of hallucinations. While generalists have a role to play here, many contractors are highly educated specialists in their field, using their knowledge to create more curated repositories, rating responses on their accuracy. Google is believed to work with a team of “super raters,” particularly for the evaluation of its AI Overviews tool.
The Google contractors who were laid off told Wired that the cuts came as a surprise, with Google only explaining that it was looking to “ramp down on the project.”
Some Say Google’s Contract Staff Were Silenced from Complaining About Working Conditions
While we know that the Google AI raters were fired from their roles, there has been a change at the subcontractor firm, GlobalLogic, as well. A rushed return-to-office mandate in Texas was part of the problem, with many workers reporting difficulties in adhering to the demand. Additionally, workers also claimed that they were both underpaid and overworked, with the lack of job security weighing on them heavily.
Workers reportedly attempted to unionize as well, in a drive to secure better contracts and working conditions for themselves as a collective. However, these attempts were met with resistance. The Google raters have now launched federal complaints against the employer, filing their allegations with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Google, for its part, has claimed that these contractors are not directly employed by Alphabet and, as such, “GlobalLogic and their subcontractors are responsible for the employment and working conditions of their employees.” The Google pay dispute complaints primarily stem from work done via GlobalLogic, which has a key role to play in the matter; however, the workers blame the tech giant as well for actions such as restricting virtual social spaces for the workers to communicate with each other.
The Atmosphere of Fear Continues to Bring Down Workplaces
The constant job anxiety faced by workers and the lack of space to discuss these issues with colleagues is a growing problems for much of the workforce. While there is much to be said about the Google AI contract worker who has now been fired, the problem goes beyond the tech titan and its operations. Even in the AI space, where jobs are believed to be a dime a dozen, the lack of employment stability has been difficult to overcome.
Organizations that are intent on hiring now have the arduous task of building engagement and unity among the workforce and ensuring that the working conditions meet employee expectations. The degree of unrest may have had the biggest effect on the 200 AI contractors who were cut, but other employees are also wary of speaking up about the demanding job conditions and the impact it is having on them.
Google is not unfamiliar with allegations of illegal firings, but the tense atmosphere of work leaves much to be desired. The world of AI is highly competitive, this is easy enough to see, with the top tech firms poaching talent from each other. However, retaining this talent has been difficult, despite the generous pay packages offered to the top AI engineers. For workers lower on the rung, there is no appeal to pay or generous benefits either.
Whether your organization relies on contractors, part-time workers, or full-time employees, fair negotiations on worker wages and support systems may just be the axle to building stability into the workforce.
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