Samasource Impact Sourcing Inc is set to cut 1,108 jobs in Kenya after US tech giant Meta ended a major contract for content moderation and data annotation, delivering a significant setback to the country’s BPO sector.
The San Francisco-based firm confirmed it has issued redundancy notices to employees at its Nairobi operations, with the layoffs expected to take effect later this month in line with Kenyan labour laws. Most of the affected positions are linked directly to the now-terminated Meta contract, which had been a cornerstone of Sama’s presence in Kenya.
The move highlights a broader vulnerability within the BPO industry, where a handful of American tech firms account for a large share of outsourced digital work.
Sama’s country lead and vice-president for global delivery, Annepeace Alwala, said the company is working to manage the transition responsibly while prioritising support for affected staff and maintaining stability across its wider operations.
Nairobi has increasingly positioned itself as a hub for data labelling and content moderation, both critical to training artificial intelligence systems. However, such contracts remain fluid, often shifting as clients adjust strategies, adopt automation, or relocate operations.
Although Sama did not reveal the financial value of its agreement with Meta, the contract supported a substantial portion of its Kenyan workforce, particularly in reviewing and tagging data used in AI development, including material linked to Meta’s hardware platforms. The firm noted it had attempted to retain the roles through discussions with the client, but those efforts were unsuccessful. It has pledged transition support for affected employees.
The layoffs are expected to ripple through the labour market, especially among young professionals who have entered the tech ecosystem through impact sourcing roles, often seen as a gateway to global digital employment.
While the model has grown quickly across East Africa, it remains heavily reliant on foreign demand and faces stiff competition from other low-cost markets.
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The job cuts come shortly after the Kenya International Investment Conference, where the government announced a US$10 million investment commitment by ADEC Innovations expected to generate around 2,000 BPO jobs. The sector remains central to Nairobi’s strategy of building a digital economy, even as it grapples with the unpredictability of external clients.
The development also revives concerns over working conditions in content moderation and data annotation. Sama’s past engagements with Meta have faced legal challenges and criticism over the psychological toll and structure of outsourced labour.
In 2024, the Court of Appeal ruled that Meta could be sued in Kenya over its role in outsourced moderation work, allowing former workers engaged through Sama to pursue compensation claims. The decision followed earlier disputes around redundancy procedures and workplace protections, underscoring ongoing tensions in the outsourcing model where global platforms rely on third-party providers for sensitive digital tasks.
