Investigate Europe probe finds electrocutions, wage theft at AI data centers

The Investigate Europe findings, published October 30 after a five-month probe across eight countries, bring rare public documentation to the labor conditions behind the US tech data center buildout in Europe. The probe details 400-volt arc-flash electrocutions, tuberculosis outbreaks in migrant housing with 24 workers per kitchen and 14 men per bathroom, 60-hour weeks without overtime, and nearly €900,000 in unpaid wages withheld from 78 Romanian workers. Unions in five countries reported being locked out of sites, a condition they described as 'more closed than a state prison,' suggesting that oversight of these workplaces is limited. The concentration of abuses among migrant workers, as documented by the probe, may point to gaps in enforcement or contractor accountability at these flagship facilities.