Google, the giant technology company, recently found itself in the crosshairs of the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU). The latter alleged that Google violated federal labor laws by terminating contract employees who were in the process of forming a union. The claims were brought to light in an August 3 complaint filed to the U.S. National Labor Relations Board.
The layoffs in question affected workers with a full spectrum of roles: writers, graphic designers, and launch coordinators–over 70% of the “proposed bargaining unit.” These were individuals responsible for creating Google’s internal and external content, showcasing their wide and highly valued range of contributions to the tech behemoth.
Adding another layer to the claims is the fact that many of these employees were actually staffed through Accenture, not Google. Their responsibilities ranged from Google’s search engine optimization to its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots.
Despite the seriousness of these allegations, Google maintains that actions taken concerning contract terminations were purely about efficiency and cost-saving measures. Google also points out that issues related to union organizing falls under Accenture’s jurisdiction as the employer.
Amid this controversy, Google has also found itself involved in another legal action revolving around AI. A class-action lawsuit was launched against the technology company in July over its new AI data scraping privacy policy. Google has also undergone some major restructuring within its AI research and development sector earlier this year.
Such shake-ups are common within the dynamic technology and crypto industry. Google, among many other companies, is not a newcomer to laying off a substantial number of employees, especially in the volatile start of this year. However, the conflict arising from the allegations associated with the recent wave of job terminations extends the debate far beyond the normal ebb and flow of staffing.
As companies harness the power of AI and other rapidly advancing technologies, they also grapple with the fundamental shift of their workforce structures and values. The transparency of their actions and their regard for worker rights is bound to come under scrutiny amidst these changes. We all wait to watch how Google navigates these waters, and the ripple effects it will have in the tech world and beyond.
Source: Cointelegraph
