More than 200 of Google’s subcontractors who helped test artificial intelligence products were laid off last month – with the dismissals coming after the workers had complained over low pay and poor working conditions.
The ousted workers were responsible for testing Google’s Gemini AI chatbot to help its responses sound more human and were employed through an outside firm called GlobalLogic, not Alphabet itself.
Still, Google has faced criticism in the past over the treatment of third-party contractors under its roof.
Some claim that the cuts, which occurred abruptly in two waves last month, were meant to crush long-running complaints about low pay and a lack of job security for the testers – who needed a master’s or a PhD to participate in a “super rater program,” which is focused on AI according to Wired.
“I was just cut off,” Andrew Lauzon, one of the laid-off workers, told Wired. “I asked for a reason and they said ramp-down on the project – whatever that means.”
At least two workers caught up in the layoffs have filed formal complaints with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging that they faced retaliation for raising concerns.
In total, Wired spoke to eight workers who described being underpaid or faced poor working conditions, such as being told they had just five minutes to complete individual tasks.
“I don’t even keep count of how many I do in a day,” one worker identified as “Alex” told the outlet. “I just focus more on the timer than anything else—it’s gone from mentally stimulating work to mind-numbing.”
Workers had recently grown concerned that GlobalLogic was planning to replace their human testers with AI products that could perform the same task, according to Wired, which obtained internal documents that showed contractors were being used to train a Google AI system that rates chatbot responses.
The outsourcing firm had reportedly taken steps that were seen as an effort to thin its ranks, such as implementing a mandatory return-to-office policy for contractors based in Austin, Texas.
“How are we supposed to feel secure in this employment when we know that we could go at any moment?” Lauzon added.
A Google spokesperson said the testers were temporarily assigned to provide feedback about its products and that their ratings were just one of several metrics used to track Gemini’s performance.
“These individuals are employees of GlobalLogic or their subcontractors, not Alphabet,” the Google spokesperson said in a statement. “As the employers, GlobalLogic and their subcontractors are responsible for the employment and working conditions of their employees.
GlobalLogic did not immediately return a request for comment.
The problems allegedly accelerated as Google stepped up work on AI in 2023. GlobalLogic began hiring more subcontractors through third parties to meet the labor demand who were paid $18 to $22 per hour for their work – less than the $28 to $32 per hour earned by the firm’s in-house “super raters.”
The super raters began organizing a union to seek better pay and had built a chapter with 18 members as of December 2024, according to Wired. That number ballooned to 60 by February.
The workers allege that GlobalLogic clamped down on internal communications in response, including banning use of social channels during work hours.
The layoffs come as Google is locked in intense competition with the likes of Sam Altman’s OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI to develop the best AI chatbot.
Google has faced criticism over Gemini’s habit of spitting out hallucinations full of wrong information, such as falsely claiming that Eminem performed at the funeral of Jeff Bezos’s mother.
At the same time, Google has conducted its own layoffs as part of internal restructuring.
That includes offering “voluntary” buyouts to some remote workers while pushing a three-day-per week return to office mandate.
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