Recently, Elon Musk’s xAI caused a stir by reorganising its team in a big way, which is changing how it develops AI. About 500 workers were let go by the corporation on the evening of September 12, 2025, from the data annotation team, which was its largest division.
These employees, referred to as generalist AI tutors, played a key role in training xAI’s chatbot Grok by contextualising and labelling the raw data required to educate the AI on how to comprehend the outside world. Approximately one-third of that division’s 1,500 members are represented by this transfer.
The choice was made suddenly. Late Friday, employees received emails informing them of the layoffs. They were informed that they would receive payment until the conclusion of their contracts or, at the latest, November 30. However, they lost access to Slack and other company tools and communication platforms right away.
Who Was Affected by the Layoffs?
Notably, certain senior members of the human data management team, who had played a key role in Grok’s development, were among the layoffs. This crew typically made between $35 and $65 per hour. As part of a strategic move away from generalist positions, xAI is laying off employees in order to hire “specialist AI tutors” with domain-specific knowledge in fields including STEM, coding, finance, law, and even odd categories like Grok personality experts and “shitposters and doomscrollers.”
This workforce of specialised tutors will grow tenfold, according to xAI’s ambitions. This reorganisation comes after Grok has faced persistent difficulties, such as contentious AI behaviour and unapproved system prompt changes.
By emphasising higher-quality inputs from specialised tutors rather than a sizable staff of generalist annotators, xAI seeks to improve Grok’s dependability and transparency. xAI maintains that, in spite of the layoffs, it is not cutting back but rather prioritising its efforts with more qualified staff in order to advance Grok’s development.
Why Is xAI Replacing Generalists with Specialists?
A strategic shift is the main cause of this significant staff reduction. Employing specialised AI tutors with specialised knowledge is replacing generalist positions in xAI. Deep expertise in STEM subjects, coding, economics, law, and even more unusual sectors like Grok’s personality and behaviour analysis are anticipated of the new candidates. As part of this specialised expansion, the corporation is surprisingly also searching for “shitposters and doomscrollers”.
This reorganisation takes place as Grok faces increasing difficulties. Earlier, the AI chatbot garnered media attention due to contentious results and problems with its training mechanism. According to reports, tests were administered to employees before the layoffs in order to assess their abilities and suitability for the new approach.
These assessments addressed a wide range of topics, including Grok’s personality qualities, content safety procedures, and technical STEM expertise. Diego Pasini, a new team leader presently on leave from the Wharton School of Business, spearheaded the initiative, raising concerns about his leadership background inside the restructured teams. The overarching objective of xAI seems to be rather clear: increasing the quality and dependability of Grok’s AI by creating a smaller, more skilled staff.
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•Layoffs affect one-third of the division’s 1,500 •Employees were generalist AI tutors who trained •Pay scale ranged between $35–$65 per hour for these •Workers received sudden layoff emails; access to |
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