Apple Inc. has made the decision to close its artificial intelligence (AI) team in San Diego, a move that puts approximately 121 employees at risk of termination. Sources familiar with the matter report that the group, known as Data Operations Annotations, was informed that they would be merging with the Texas portion of the same team in Austin. Employees were given until the end of February to decide if they would relocate, with termination on April 26 being the consequence for those who choose not to move.
This decision, made by Christine DeFilippo, a top deputy to Apple AI chief John Giannandrea, has surprised the San Diego staff, as they had been preparing to move to a new Apple campus in the area. However, the majority of affected workers have expressed unwillingness to relocate to Austin. While Apple has assured them that they can apply for other jobs within the company, some employees believe they won’t be eligible for many roles due to their lack of engineering backgrounds.
The San Diego AI team is responsible for improving Siri by listening to user queries and ensuring accurate responses. This move has the potential to result in several dozen workers leaving the company. Apple, unlike its tech peers, has managed to avoid layoffs during the pandemic. However, the company did let go of some corporate retail jobs and recruiters last year. Employees who are willing to relocate to Austin by the end of June will retain their roles and receive a $7,000 relocation stipend. Those who choose to leave Apple will receive severance and health insurance benefits.
This closure marks the end of a chapter for the San Diego team, which had a notable history within Apple. Originally comprised of contractors tasked with listening to Siri queries, the practice raised privacy concerns and was discontinued in 2019. The contractors were then replaced with full-time employees. Some members of the team have now begun assisting Apple with AI products based on large language models, known as LLMs. Apple is expected to announce its LLM plans in June.
Despite closing down the San Diego team, Apple remains committed to its growth in the region and plans to continue hiring as it expands its engineering teams.
The source of the article is from the blog lanoticiadigital.com.ar