Thread by @WolfieChristl

Who is the outsourcing firm that employs 1000s of super low-paid TikTok+FB content moderators in Morocco?

Majorel, one of the largest customer services and call center operators in EMEA, 75k staff, is owned by Saham and the German media group Bertelsmann.

https://twitter.com/_RosieBradbury/status/1554082126261272579

Bertelsmann, the largest European media group, also operates Arvato, which provides debt collection, credit scoring, loyalty programs, consumer data brokerage and 'business process outsourcing'.

Majorel was formed through the merger of Arvato CRM and African Saham group in 2019.

Bertelsmann's Arvato was already among the largest European call center operators before.

Apparently, Majorel and the US outsourcing firm Sitel 'agreed on the terms for a potential merger' in June 2022, creating a 'global leader in CX' (customer experience) with 240k staff.

Nine current and former content moderators in Morocco who worked on Majorel's TikTok contract "said that Majorel and TikTok took few steps to mitigate the effects of their work, while imposing a workplace environment of near-constant surveillance and near-impossible metric goals"

"Management did not consider us as humans, but rather as robots" ... "six moderators told Insider that their goals were difficult to meet. When moderators failed to reach those goals, they described being reprimanded by their managers. It also meant forgoing a $50 bonus"

"Several moderators also said Majorel was inconsistent in how it scheduled shifts"

"While Majorel told Insider that moderators have access to harm-mitigation tools ... all of the moderators Insider spoke with said they didn't have access to any such feature"

"Five other Majorel moderators also said the company's wellness counselors weren't enough to help them with the pressures of the role. Some said their monthly meetings rarely helped address the issues with a job ... Others feared the counselors would report their feelings to HR"

"Multiple moderators said they feared speaking out against Majorel, even after leaving. The company's culture is highly secretive, and moderators are intimidated from speaking openly about their working conditions or their clients, they said"

"we are committed to promoting the common good. Freedom, solidarity and goodwill are the values that guide our efforts"

From Bertelsmann Foundation's mission statement, who holds the majority of capital shares of Bertelsmann Group.
bertelsmann-stiftung.de/en/about-us/at…
bertelsmann-stiftung.de/en/about-us/wh…

The irresponsible and destructive business of Chinese and US platform corps relies on exploitative work provided by a company jointly controlled by an African outsourcing oligarch and, of all things, a European publishing giant, led by a Bertelsmann manager #surprise #nosurprise