Appen revealed that its partnership with Google will cease on March 19, 2024. The collaboration primarily involved providing search engine assessments and quality evaluations.
As of January 26, 2024, fresh job openings for search quality evaluators have surfaced in Google’s job search listings.
A recent disclosure from Appen detailed the reception of a notice from Google LLC on January 20, 2024, terminating their global inbound services agreement. Consequently, Appen’s services to Google will terminate by March 19, 2024.
Appen serves as a supplier of search engine assessors, or quality raters, for Google, as evidenced by recent job postings from the company.
The job listings likely appeared prior to Google informing Appen about its decision to terminate services.
The implications of the termination of Appen’s contract on the Search Quality Rater program remain uncertain. Notably, Google revised its Search Quality Rater Guidelines in November 2023.
The news has adversely affected Appen’s stock, plummeting to its lowest point.
Appen’s announcement follows layoffs at Google across multiple divisions, with more anticipated, as per CEO Sundar Pichai’s statement. The objective is to advance the company’s endeavors in artificial intelligence development.
Employees have expressed frustration over consecutive January layoffs, criticizing Google’s leadership for a lack of vision and proactive measures. Executives have been labeled as “uninspiring” and accused of lacking clear direction on social media.
Critics argue that Google has struggled to launch successful initiatives driven by executives in recent years, often abandoning projects that fail to rapidly amass a large user base.
An engineer highlights a lack of consistent priorities, with executives vaguely emphasizing AI while simultaneously implementing widespread layoffs across various departments.
This environment has fostered feelings of nihilism and apprehension among employees, who are demotivated and uncertain about their future with the company.
