Google DeepMind Employees Elect to Form a Union in Response to Military AI Contracts

Employees at Google DeepMind in London have voted in favor of unionization, aiming to prevent the AI lab from supplying its technology to the US and Israeli military forces.

In a letter to Google’s managing director for the UK and Ireland, Debbie Weinstein, the workers requested that the company acknowledge the Communication Workers Union and Unite the Union as joint representatives for DeepMind staff.

“At its core, the unionization effort is centered on enforcing Google’s own ethical commitments regarding AI, its monetization, the impact of its products, and its business partnerships,” stated John Chadfield, national officer for technology at the CWU, in an interview with WIRED. “Through unionization, employees find themselves in a much stronger position to voice their concerns to management that often seems unresponsive.”

The initiative to unionize began in February 2025, following Alphabet’s revocation of a pledge not to apply AI to purposes such as weapon development and surveillance, as disclosed by a DeepMind employee who wished to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation.

“Many here believed in Google DeepMind’s message of ‘building AI responsibly to benefit humanity,’” the anonymous DeepMind employee shared with WIRED. “However, the current trajectory suggests an increasing militarization of the AI models we create.”

This sentiment is becoming more prevalent across the tech sector. In late February, staff at DeepMind and OpenAI expressed their support for Anthropic via an open letter, responding to the US Department of Defense’s attempt to classify the lab as a supply chain risk for its refusal to allow its AI for use in autonomous weapons or extensive surveillance of US citizens. Recently, The New York Times reported that Google had entered an agreement permitting the Pentagon to utilize its AI for “any lawful government purpose.” (Last Friday, the US Department of Defense confirmed it had partnered with seven leading AI firms—including Google, SpaceX, OpenAI, and Microsoft—to deploy their models on classified networks.) Approximately 600 Google employees in the US reportedly signed a letter opposing the agreement, with the DeepMind employee commenting, “We believe the [any lawful purpose] clause is vague enough to lack real meaning.”

Google did not provide an immediate response to a request for comment. The company has historically defended its agreements with governmental entities. “We take pride in being part of a broad consortium of leading AI labs and cloud companies providing AI services and infrastructure in support of national security,” said Jenn Crider, a Google representative, in a statement to The New York Times last week. “We remain dedicated to a shared understanding between the private and public sectors that AI should not be employed for domestic mass surveillance or autonomous weaponry without appropriate human oversight.”

In 2021, Google employees in the US established the Alphabet Workers Union. Though not recognized by Alphabet for collective bargaining, the union has previously succeeded in negotiating agreements on behalf of Google contractors.

The DeepMind employee indicated that if they succeed in unionizing in the UK, they may demand that Google withdraw from its longstanding contract with the Israeli military, seek enhanced transparency regarding the usage of its AI products, and request some form of assurance concerning layoffs enabled by automation.

Should Google fail to engage, the letter mentions that employees will appeal to an arbitration committee to compel the company to acknowledge the unions.

Since the start of the year, both Anthropic and OpenAI have announced major expansions of their operations in London. CWU hopes that the unionization efforts at DeepMind will encourage workers at these labs to take similar actions.

“These discussions are underway,” asserts Chadfield. “Employees at other leading firms have seen what the workers at Google DeepMind have achieved. They’ve approached us for support as well.”