Google's AI Moderators Fired for Demanding Better Pay, Trying to Unionise

Over 200 contract workers of Hitachi-owned services firm GlobalLogic were reportedly fired in the past two months after demanding better pay, improved working conditions, and attempting to unionise. These workers were employed on a Google project, evaluating the responses of its AI products.

The layoffs were reported by US-based news portal Wired, citing dismissed workers and current employees who spoke on condition of anonymity. GlobalLogic, a digital product engineering services company headquartered in San Jose, California, has for years handled outsourced Google search result moderation through a team called “generalist raters.”

In 2023, the company also began working on Google’s AI products with a group called “super raters,” who were tasked with evaluating tools such as AI Overviews. These teams included professionals from diverse fields, writers, teachers, and other creative experts, who reviewed, edited, and rewrote Google’s AI Overview results, Gemini chatbot responses, and other outputs.

The report makes two key allegations against GlobalLogic. First, that human raters are being used to train Google’s AI system, which could ultimately replace them. Second, that the company has been gradually replacing experienced raters with lower-paid workers as soon as demands for better pay and conditions surfaced.

Initially, full-time super raters earned $28–32 an hour, but GlobalLogic later hired new workers through third-party contractors at reduced rates of $18–22. Generalist raters reportedly earned even less, despite being assigned increasingly complex tasks, often without pay raises or benefits.

Workers told Wired they face worsening job insecurity, stagnant pay, and declining working conditions. In July 2024, GlobalLogic also mandated office returns, disproportionately affecting people with disabilities, caregivers, and those with financial constraints. Unionising efforts began in late 2023, with some employees forming private groups and seeking ties with the Alphabet Workers Union. By early 2024, membership had grown to about 60.

However, employees allege the company retaliated by suppressing pay discussions, banning internal social channels, and firing organisers. Two raters have since filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board, claiming unfair dismissal. Former super rater Ricardo Levario also said he was fired for allegedly “violating social spaces policy” after filing a whistleblower complaint with Hitachi.