Discontinuing the content moderation business was a difficult decision that we made when Sama shifted its focus to computer vision data annotation technology platform and solutions.
You may have seen the news articles today referring to a potential new litigation against Sama for wrongful termination. We wanted to address some of the issues raised in these articles.Discontinuing the content moderation business was a difficult decision that we made when Sama shifted its focus to computer vision data annotation technology platform and solutions.During this process we have followed Kenyan law in every aspect and often gone above and beyond what is required. We communicated the decision to discontinue content moderation in a town hall in January, followed by an email and notification letter. We conducted a survey to collect questions and held multiple interactive consultative group sessions with employees to make this process and the compensation as clear as possible. No lawfully owed compensation is being withheld for any reason from any employee.We know that this has been tough for those impacted, which is why we provide extensive mental health services, including on-site licensed and trained mental health professionals, a 24-hour hotline and virtual consultations. All interactions are confidential and are never shared with management. This wellbeing service will continue for 12 months after March 31. We also provide meals that are curated for physical and mental well-being.Please see our blog post from January 10, 2023 for further details and context on the decision to discontinue that part of our business.If/when we are served by a Kenyan court, we will respond to all claims through the proper legal channels.Sama prides itself on paying fair local wages that are above minimum wage, providing secure formal employment with medical and mental health benefits, holiday pay, sick pay and numerous other wrap-around benefits. We are an impact employer and to date have helped over 60,000 people lift themselves out of poverty. Read more here about the Randomized Controlled Trial conducted by MIT to verify our impact employment model.We’d like to recognize the exemplary work our employees have done and extend our gratitude for their work in keeping African communities safe.
Sama provides ML Professionals and AI team Leads with an indispensable solution for Computer Vision data labeling.
