Google has terminated the employment of more than two dozen employees who participated in protests against the company's cloud computing contract with the Israeli government. The workers were dismissed following an investigation that revealed they had staged demonstrations inside Google's offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California.
During the protests, demonstrators entered the office of Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian, holding banners with messages such as “No More Genocide For Profit” and “We Stand with Palestinian, Arab and Muslim Googlers.”
A Google spokesperson stated that the protests were part of a long-standing campaign by individuals not employed by the company. The spokesperson emphasized that disrupting work and impeding access to facilities violated company policies and was unacceptable behavior. Law enforcement was eventually called to remove the protesters from the premises after they refused to leave.
Following individual investigations, Google decided to terminate the employment of 28 employees involved in the protests. The company indicated that further investigations would be conducted as necessary.
The protests were organized by a group called No Tech For Apartheid, which strongly criticized Google's decision to dismiss the employees. The group highlighted Google's $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government and military for cloud computing services, known as Project Nimbus.
Israel has denied accusations of genocide in Gaza, asserting that its actions are in self-defense against attacks by Hamas. The conflict between Israel and Hamas has resulted in casualties and hostages on both sides.
