San Diego, January 15: Apple has shut down its Data Operations Annotations team of 121 in San Diego and merged it with the Austin team. The decision has reportedly affected the future of the team at stake. To merge the team with Texas's Austin team, the company asked employees relocate, and the workers who disagree, they will likely face termination. 

According to reports, the San Diego Data Operations Annotations team enhanced Siri's functionality. According to the report by Business Times, the announcement was made by Christine DeFilippo, deputy to Apple AI Chief John Giannandrea, putting the team in a "dilemma". The report mentioned that Apple earlier indicated relocation within San Diego. However, the actual decision put them at surprise and unease. AI Replacing Jobs: Artificial Intelligence Will Ripple Through Economies in Complex Way and Reshape Nature of Work, Says Report.

According to the report by India Today, the San Diego team mainly worked on enhancing the voice service queries related to Siri. Earlier working as contractors listening to Siri queries, they reportedly became full-time employees in 2019. The report mentioned that, by that time, the listening practice had become optional. 

According to these reports, most of the Data Operations Annotation team workers from San Diego were reluctant to relocate to Austin. The unwillingness of the employees to relocate reportedly sparked concerns at Apple about their role and eligibility. As per the reports, the team needed more engineering background. However, Apple offered a $7,000 stipend for relocation, but the unwilling employees chose four weeks of severance and six months of health insurance. FedEx Announces New Data-Driven Commerce Platform ‘fdx’, in a Bid To Take On E-Commerce Giant Amazon.

Apple avoided the layoffs during the pandemic compared to other tech majors. However, the Data Operations Annotations Group from San Diego joined to work on Siri use in languages like Arabic, Spanish, French, Hebrew, Portuguese and English for Apple's AI capabilities. However, the tech giant may have to lay off the unwilling employees; however, some employees supported the transition towards AI-based products using LLMs.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 15, 2024 11:25 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).