Apple Inc. is shutting a 121-person team related to artificial intelligence operations in San Diego, leaving many employees at risk of termination, according to people familiar with the matter.

The group, known as Data Operations Annotations, was told Wednesday that they would be relocating to Austin to merge with the Texas portion of the same team, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been announced, IANS reported.

The team has a notable history within Apple. Years ago, the group was mostly made up of contractors who listened to Siri queries to ensure their accuracy. That practice raised privacy concerns and was made optional for customers in 2019. The contractors ended up being fired and replaced with full-time employees.

A small number of employees in the group have begun assisting Apple with a move to AI products based on large language models, or LLMs. These employees are now reviewing potential queries to Siri and choosing among a handful of answers. They then have to explain their decision. Apple is planning to announce its LLM plans in June, Bloomberg News has reported.

Apple told employees that they have until the end of February to decide if they will relocate, according to the people. If they don’t, the workers will be terminated on April 26.

The group, which also has offices in China, India, Ireland and Spain, is responsible for improving Siri by listening to queries to the voice service and determining if it heard and handled questions accurately. The announcement to close the San Diego group was made by Christine DeFilippo, a top deputy to Apple AI chief John Giannandrea, the people said.