When Sara Ramirez started as an interpreter for Monterey, California-based LanguageLine Solutions, in October 2020, she saw it as “a regular company.” She worked part-time as a Spanish-language interpreter from her home in El Paso, Texas, translating by phone for clients that included the Federal Emergency Management Agency, banks and hospitals. If she encountered a problem, she emailed her supervisor. If she still had questions, they talked on the phone.
Things began to change quickly after LanguageLine introduced a new AI workforce management program in 2025, Ramirez said. Before, she had her break midway through her five-hour shift. Now it moved around, seemingly at random. Entire shifts were eliminated from her schedule with little notice. The workload also increased, giving her as few as 15 seconds between calls during busy hours, when previously she had a few minutes.
