Apple is shutting down an office in San Diego that housed part of the Data Operations Annotations group. It is also providing affected employees with the opportunity to move to its offices in Austin, Texas.
The Data Operations Annotations has global teams dedicated to enhancing the accuracy of Siri and other machine learning-powered Apple services. In 2019, contractors in Ireland gained attention for disclosing private conversations they heard while working as Siri data graders, which Apple later terminated, and established full-time teams for the task, made opt-in processes for users, and stopped uploading raw audio snippets to its servers.
AI Transition
Apple is expected to reveal a significant overhaul to Siri functionality at WWDC in June, driven by generative AI and large language model systems. Bloomberg reports that some individuals in Data Operations Annotations are currently focused on enhancing the performance of these large language model systems.
Joining the Layoff Trend Due to Economic Condition
The tech industry experienced substantial layoffs in the past year, with Google, Meta, and Amazon releasing thousands of employees. Apple, previously an exception, will join the trend with this move.
The 121 impacted employees must confirm if they can move to Texas by the end of February. However, many are not willing to relocate to Austin. Those who agree to transfer will receive a $7,000 relocation stipend, while laid-off employees will be given four weeks of severance pay, an extra week for each year worked at Apple, and six months of health insurance coverage.
While Apple is not laying off thousands like other tech giants, this move indicates that large companies like Apple are not exempt from layoffs, given the current economic conditions.
Relocating Employees
An Apple spokesperson confirmed the "relocation" to Bloomberg, stating that the company is consolidating its Data Operations Annotations teams in Austin, where most of the team is already based. The spokesperson also verified that all current employees in the San Diego team are offered the opportunity to continue their role with Apple in Austin.
Apple's Data Operations Annotations group is in various countries, including China, India, Ireland, and Spain. They enhance Siri by reviewing user queries to ensure the assistant accurately hears them. Christine DeFilippo, the senior director of operations, reportedly decided to close the San Diego office, which completely surprised Apple San Diego employees. Earlier this month, Apple provided packing boxes to employees in preparation for the relocation within the city.
Affected employees can apply for other positions within Apple, but many are unsure about their eligibility due to non-engineering backgrounds. Some employees have started assisting with Apple's efforts to integrate AI into its products and services, reviewing potential queries and choosing the relevant answers from a prespecified list.
