Google

Google's AI contract workers lose jobs amid labor dispute

The tech behemoth Alphabet is terminating employment contracts for most Google Help workers attempting to unionize. The Alphabet Workers Union alleges that Google's parent company's decision violates federal labor law, which protects employees from retaliation by employers for unionizing.

According to a National Labor Relations Board document, more than 70% of the proposed bargaining unit employees were warned in July that they would lose their employment. Employees in Austin, Texas, the San Francisco Bay Area, and other regions of the United States were told of the job layoffs at a live-streamed "town hall" that did not allow for employee questions or comments.

"As discussed during the town hall, the account team has adjusted our support for this project to meet our client’s needs," an email to staff stated.

The bargaining unit consists of 118 writers, graphic designers, and launch coordinators responsible for developing internal and external content for Google. The staff were employed through Accenture and focused on increasing the quality of Google's search results and AI chatbot. However, the employees allege that Google is also legally their boss and have petitioned the NLRB to identify Google as a joint employer of Accenture employees.

Accenture said it supported its employees' efforts to create or join unions after announcing the job losses in July. "As recently communicated to our people, these workforce decisions were made before any notification to us of potential union activity," it continued.

According to Bloomberg, most of Alphabet's contract workers joined the company's worldwide workforce in 2018. In another example, in April this year, a group of Alphabet contract employees employed by Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. voted 41-0 to unionize. Later, on July 19, NLRB members affirmed a regional director's decision that Alphabet was the workers' joint employer.