The New York Times tech workers went on strike Monday, with set date November 4 months earlier. The striking workers represent provide software support and data analysis for the Times’ business side, seeking a 2.5% annual wage increase and two days per week of in-office work. They claim the company has undervalued their contributions.
Publisher AG Sulzberger criticized the strike ahead of the US presidential election, saying hundreds of millions of people depend on the Times’ journalism during this time. However, Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas offered to provide technical infrastructure support for the NYT during the strike.
Many viewed Srinivas’ offer as crossing picket lines, a behavior considered disreputable in labor matters. The NYT and Perplexity have a contentious history, including a cease and desist letter sent by the Times over scraping of articles for AI models.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/04/perplexity-ceo-offers-ai-companys-services-to-replace-striking-nyt-staff