📞 “AI Chatbot Replaces Hundreds of Call Centre Workers at Rogers—Humans Become the Afterthought”
This week, Canadian telecom giant Rogers made the controversial move to replace hundreds of its customer service agents with AI-powered chatbots. Former employees allege that they were used to train the very systems that would later replace them, leaving many feeling betrayed and discarded .
SOURCE: https://www.iphoneincanada.ca/2025/07/13/rogers-turns-to-ai-chatbot-cuts-partner-call-centre-jobs/
đź’” The Human Toll
- Empathy over efficiency
These agents weren’t robotic—they were the human voice providing reassurance, troubleshooting, and understanding to stressed customers. Replacing them with AI cuts off empathy at the source. - Training the replacement
Worse, employees allege their own conversations were used to “teach” the chatbots. That means the very human work they performed became the blueprint for their displacement. - North America’s labor signal
This move shows that even frontline service roles—still deeply human—are no longer safe from automation’s expansion into everyday interactions.
🛡️ What HFA Stands For
- Voice the voiceless
We’re reaching out to impacted agents—those who answered the phones day in and day out. Their stories of connection, care, and sudden unemployment need to be heard. - Demand transparency & consent
Companies using employee data to train AI must obtain consent, explain how it’s used, and offer genuine alternatives before displacing staff. - Push for ethical AI deployment
We reject AI that replaces human roles without oversight or safeguards. We demand:- Human-in-the-loop fallback options
- Retraining investments
- Mental health and transition support
✊ How You Can Help
- Were you one of the agents affected?
Submit your story. Help us spotlight the emotional impact behind these automated decisions. - Work in telecom or CX?
Partner with HFA to pilot human-first customer service models: hybrid teams, empathy audits, transparent AI training methods. - Concerned ally or customer?
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