Google Lays Off Over 200 AI Contractors Amid Claims of Poor Working Conditions

More than 200 contract workers involved in Google’s AI rating tasks have been laid off in recent weeks, according to multiple sources monitored by WIRED and other outlets. These workers were employed through GlobalLogic, a firm that handles many of Google’s AI evaluation and refinement work. 

Over 200 AI Contractors Laid Off by GlobalLogic

Among the affected were “super raters” with advanced degrees—master’s or PhDs—tasked with evaluating outputs from Google’s Gemini chatbot and AI Overviews, ensuring responses are natural-sounding, accurate, and grounded in proper sources. 

Complaints About Working Conditions and Automation Fears

Pay Disparity & Job Insecurity

Workers report significant pay differences between those directly employed versus agency-contracted staff:

• Globally hired super raters earned $28-32/hour. 

• Third-party contractors doing the same work earned $18-22/hour. 

Many contractors were on short-term contracts without benefits such as paid leave, while having strict time targets. Some say enforcement of performance metrics pressured them to prioritise speed over quality. 

Organising and Retaliation Accusations

In the past year contractors attempted to organise through the Alphabet Workers Union for greater transparency and better pay. They also raised concerns about the workload and lack of clarity in project scope. 

Some claim that efforts to organise were discouraged; at least two workers filed complaints with the U.S. labor board (the National Labor Relations Board) alleging wrongful termination over speaking out about conditions. 

Google & GlobalLogic Respond

Google has sought to distance itself from direct responsibility, noting that the affected individuals are employed by GlobalLogic or its subcontractors, not Alphabet. Spokesperson Courtenay Mencini said that those employers are responsible for employment terms. 

GlobalLogic has declined to comment on many of the allegations.

Conclusion

The layoffs of over 200 AI contractors through GlobalLogic underline the growing tensions at the intersection of outsourced labor, automation, and the ethics of AI development.

Workers in Google-affiliated AI rating roles contend with sharp disparities in pay, lack of job security, and pressures to meet short deadlines—conditions they say conflict with the advanced nature of their work.

While Google emphasizes that the contractors are employed by GlobalLogic or its subcontractors, many say the boundary between Google’s AI ambitions and the human labor behind them has become increasingly blurred.

Success for these workers in obtaining fair treatment will depend on clearer accountability, transparent compensation structures, and safeguards against retaliation.

The unfolding situation also serves as a broader signal: as tech firms increasingly lean on contract labor to scale AI, the demand for structural reforms in pay, job stability, and working conditions is likely to grow in urgency.