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Google Axes 200 AI Contractors in Protest Crackdown, Fuels Debate Over Worker Rights & Pay
Google has joined the global trend of job cuts. Last month, the company reportedly had two rounds of layoffs. More than 200 contractors were dismissed without any notice. Here, the catch is that Google wasn’t involved directly in this. A third-party outsourcing firm, GlobalLogic, hired by the tech giant, laid off these contractors.
In 2025, almost all the big tech companies are conducting multiple rounds of job cuts. Now, this contractor layoff has raised some serious questions, leading to protests about pay disparity, job insecurity, and demanding working conditions.
Contractors Speak Out: What are Their Complaints?
It’s been a while since Google outsourced its AI rating work, which includes evaluating, editing, or rewriting the Gemini chatbot’s response to make the answers more human-like than before. Thousands of contractors work on the training process to make Gemini AI more intelligent.
However, the sudden blow has come to those workers who were assigned to the project by Hitachi-owned GlobalLogic. After the layoffs, workers shared their opinions on different platforms and in interviews. One of them mentioned, “I was just cut off. I asked for a reason, and they said ramp-down on the project - whatever that means.”
According to the contractors, they used to perform highly skilled jobs, such as evaluating AI responses, rewriting or editing output, checking correctness, and sometimes crafting prompts. A group of these laid-off contractors holds advanced degrees like Master's and PhDs.
Further, their complaints reveal the disparity in paychecks. While contractors hired by GlobalLogic earned $28 to $32/hour, employees hired by other third-party companies get $18 to $22/hour for equivalent work. Two workers even complained to the US National Labor Relations Board, stating that they were fired for voicing concerns about wages or transparency.
Also Read: Intel to Cut 24,000 Jobs, Scrap Global Expansion in Cost Overhaul
Why now? A wave of tech layoffs and contractor unrest
The GlobalLogic job cut is not an isolated incident. The tech sector has witnessed multiple similar incidents this year, affecting AI, software, startups, and major firms alike. From the previous and latest events, it’s clear that contractors and outsourcing arrangements are under pressure.
In Google’s case, some workers have revealed that these job cuts are happening because the company is trying to replace human raters with automated systems. However, Google has distanced itself from all these controversies.
The spokesperson, Courtenay Mencini, stated, “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.”
Will AI progression make manual/contract jobs obsolete?
The sudden layoff once again raised one of the most prominent tensions, whether AI will replace human jobs. As AI systems are getting capable of handling complex tasks, more companies are shifting toward an automated system, eliminating human labor. Contractor roles, including raters, evaluators, and prompt designers, have been taken over by AI.
However, there are sectors like ethics, error checking, and training models that require the human brain and can’t be done by AI models. However, the payment disparity may cause long-term issues. If human employees stop training and monitoring AI models, it will narrow down the capabilities of artificial intelligence models.
