Discussions on Unionization at Google DeepMind Face Initial Challenges

Discussions involving Google DeepMind and its employees in London regarding potential unionization faced setbacks this week, with union representatives expressing feelings of futility, as reported by WIRED.

In May, DeepMind staff requested that Google acknowledge the Communication Workers Union and Unite the Union as their joint representatives. Although the company refused this request, it agreed to take part in negotiations overseen by a neutral third party.

A preliminary meeting on Wednesday included union officials, DeepMind employees advocating for unionization, the third-party arbiter, and representatives from DeepMind’s HR. However, those pushing for unionization were disappointed by the lack of attendance from DeepMind’s leadership team.

“The absence of senior management during the initial recognition discussions signals that the company isn’t acting in good faith. It feels like a waste of time,” stated John Chadfield, a CWU officer present at the meeting. “Negotiations have hit a deadlock early on.”

DeepMind contests that negotiations are at a standstill. “The first step in this process involves identifying which unions will represent the employees, and the parties have agreed on the next steps to achieve this,” said Al Verney, a spokesperson for Google DeepMind. “The relevant representatives were present at this initial session.”

During the session, a DeepMind employee read a letter on behalf of colleagues supporting unionization, which was reviewed by WIRED. “Rather than engaging in meaningful discussions regarding our issues, Google DeepMind employees have been treated as a problem passed to HR,” the letter indicated. The employee was reportedly interrupted twice by HR representatives during the reading, according to multiple sources familiar with the meeting.

The letter also accused Google of trying to stifle open conversations among DeepMind employees and suppress dissent, by shutting down or altering internal chat platforms and preventing staff from replying to company-wide messages about the unionization effort. Employees who attempted to navigate around these restrictions faced “reprimands” from HR, according to the letter.

“The objective was to intimidate,” stated a DeepMind employee involved in drafting the letter, who wished to remain anonymous due to restrictions on speaking with the media. “These are classic union-busting tactics.”

“We are committed to engaging constructively in the…process and maintaining open communication with employees,” Verney stated. “For matters beyond this scope, we continue to provide employees with various channels and opportunities to voice their opinions.”

The initiative to unionize at DeepMind began in February 2025, following the removal of a commitment by Google’s parent company, Alphabet, to refrain from using AI for applications such as weaponry development and surveillance from its ethical guidelines, as previously reported by WIRED.

“Those principles played a significant role in my decision to join DeepMind,” remarked another DeepMind employee, who also opted for anonymity for similar reasons. “We’ve essentially discarded all of them.”