Google contractor layoffs highlight AI labor and automation concerns

More than 200 contract workers who helped review and refine Google’s artificial intelligence outputs were laid off in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the matter and affected workers, in a move that highlights growing tensions over labor, cost and automation in the AI industry. The contractors, many hired through outsourcing firms, were assigned to evaluate and edit responses from Google’s Gemini chatbot and AI-generated summaries shown in search results, workers said.

Company communications provided to some employees cited a project “rampdown” as the reason for the cuts, and Google said the affected people were employees of the contractor firms, not Alphabet. Courtenay Mencini, a Google spokesperson, said, “These individuals are employees of GlobalLogic or their subcontractors, not Alphabet. As the employers, GlobalLogic and its subcontractors are responsible for the employment and working conditions of their employees.” Contractors who received layoff notices described having little warning and limited job security.

Affected workers, including some with advanced degrees who described themselves as “super raters,” said their roles involved checking whether AI...