Technology workers in Silicon Valley, long resistant to unionisation thanks to generous pay and perks, are increasingly turning to collective bargaining as artificial intelligence reshapes their industry. Months of AI-linked mass layoffs have left many employees facing heavier workloads and job insecurity from the very products they build, while staff at firms including Google DeepMind and Meta are also objecting to how their companies deploy AI, such as for military purposes or workplace surveillance, prompting fresh union drives.

Existing efforts include the Alphabet Workers Union (AWU), which represents more than 1,400 staff across Google, YouTube and Waymo and says collective actions doubled in 2025 compared with the previous year; a recent job security petition gathered 4,500 signatures. Unionisation attempts have also emerged at Meta in the UK after May layoffs and the piloting of staff activity-tracking software, and follow earlier drives at Kickstarter and Microsoft's ZeniMax. Google DeepMind said it is in the "early stages" of recognising a union and intends to engage in good faith, while Meta declined to comment.