Unionization talks at Google DeepMind's London office have hit an early wall, with employees accusing the company of deploying "well-established union-busting techniques" during the first formal negotiation session on Wednesday.

In May, DeepMind employees asked Google to recognize the Communication Workers Union (CWU) and Unite the Union as joint representatives. Google denied that request but agreed to third-party arbitration. The opening meeting, however, was attended only by HR representatives — not a single senior leader — leaving union advocates frustrated.

"Recognition talks not being attended by senior management at the opening stage is a leading indicator that a company isn't engaging in good faith. It's just a time-wasting exercise," said John Chadfield, a CWU officer who attended the meeting. "Negotiations have stalled at an early stage."

During the session, a DeepMind employee read a prepared letter on behalf of pro-union colleagues, which WIRED reviewed. "Instead of having meaningful dialogue with its employees about our concerns, Google DeepMind workers have been treated as a problem handed off to HR," the letter states. The employee reading the statement was interrupted twice by DeepMind HR representatives, according to multiple sources.

The letter further alleges Google attempted to quash open dialogue by shutting down or reconfiguring internal chat venues and preventing staff from responding to company-wide communications about the unionization bid. "The intention was to intimidate," said one employee involved in drafting the letter. "These are well-established union-busting techniques."

DeepMind denies negotiations have stalled. "The first step in the process is to define who the unions want to represent and the parties agreed on next steps to do this," said Al Verney, a Google DeepMind spokesperson. "The appropriate representatives attended this initial meeting."

The unionization push at DeepMind began in February 2025, after Alphabet removed its pledge not to use AI for weapons development and surveillance from its ethics guidelines. "Those principles were a big part of why I joined DeepMind," said one employee. "We basically just got rid of them all."

The standoff at DeepMind mirrors a broader tension across the AI industry, where employees are increasingly pushing back against the militarization of their models. In April, The New York Times reported Google had entered into a deal allowing the Pentagon to use its AI for "any lawful government purpose," prompting roughly 600 US-based employees to sign a protest letter.

If negotiations stall further, the CWU says employees will ask an arbitration committee to force Google to recognize the unions. "We're hoping that Google genuinely comes to the table and we can agree something amicably," Chadfield said. "But both sides have to come with some concessions. Google is coming with no concessions whatsoever."

Sources: WIRED