London-based DeepMind Team Members Seek Unionization
Approximately 300 members of Google’s DeepMind team in London are in the process of seeking unionization with the Communication Workers Union, as reported by the Financial Times. The decision to unionize comes amidst dissatisfaction within the team over Google’s removal of a pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance from its website. Additionally, concerns have been raised regarding the company’s collaboration with the Israeli military, particularly a controversial $1.2 billion cloud computing contract.
According to sources, members of the DeepMind team feel misled and betrayed by Google’s actions. Several employees have reportedly resigned due to these issues. It is worth noting that DeepMind has a total staff count of around 2,000 in the UK.
In response to the unionization efforts, a Google spokesperson stated that the company values open communication and dialogue with its employees. This move to unionize follows a previous announcement by a small group of 200 Google and Alphabet employees who had also expressed interest in forming a union, albeit with limited bargaining power due to their size.
