On Friday night, xAI, a company founded by Elon Musk, executed significant layoffs affecting at least 500 employees from its data annotation team. The organization notified affected workers through emails, indicating a strategic shift towards enhancing its team of specialist AI tutors while downsizing its generalist AI tutor positions. According to multiple messages reviewed by Business Insider, the email stated, "After a thorough review of our Human Data efforts, we've decided to accelerate the expansion and prioritization of our specialist AI tutors, while scaling back our focus on general AI tutor roles."
This decision marks a pivotal change for xAI as it moves to streamline its operations. The email further informed employees that the layoffs would be effective immediately, leading to the conclusion of many generalist AI tutor positions. Workers were assured they would receive compensation through either the end of their contracts or until November 30, but their access to company systems was scheduled to end on the day the layoff notice was issued.
The data annotation team constituted the largest collective at xAI, playing a crucial role in the development of Grok, the company's chatbot. These workers were integral in teaching Grok how to interpret and categorize raw data effectively. The main communication channel for data annotators on Slack, which boasted over 1,500 members on Friday afternoon, saw a rapid decline in membership, dropping to just over 1,000 as news of the layoffs spread.
Despite the layoffs, xAI announced on the platform X that the company is looking to hire new talent. They plan to grow their team of specialist AI tutors by tenfold. This announcement came shortly after the layoff notifications, suggesting a rapid transformation within the organization.
The layoffs occurred just days after several senior-level employees, including the head of the data annotation team, had their Slack accounts deactivated, raising concerns among remaining workers. In the days leading up to the layoffs, employees were pulled into one-on-one meetings to discuss their responsibilities, projects, and achievements. Reports from employees indicate that they were also asked to highlight coworkers for their hard work.
On Thursday night, xAI informed its workers to prepare for a reorganization of the data annotation team. A team-wide announcement directed some employees to prioritize a series of tests designed to evaluate their roles going forward. These tests were intended to assess annotators and supervisors based on their strengths and interests. Diego Pasini, who has reportedly recently become the team's leader, was responsible for communicating this directive.
Workers were required to complete these tests by the following morning, covering a range of topics from traditional domains such as STEM, coding, and finance, to more unconventional areas like Grok's personality traits and behaviors. Additional assessments aimed at improving chatbot safety were also included, with some tests hosted on platforms like CodeSignal and Google Forms.
The announcement regarding the tests prompted a flurry of responses, with over 200 workers reacting positively to Pasini's message and more than 100 seeking clarification on the new requirements. However, some employees voiced frustration over the hasty timeline, with one worker commenting on the unfairness of scheduling tests after hours. Following their feedback, that worker's Slack account was reportedly deactivated shortly thereafter.
This development at xAI highlights the challenges and rapid changes within the tech industry, particularly in the realm of AI development and data management. As the company pivots towards a new strategic direction, the future of its workforce remains uncertain.
