Employees, part of a group called No Technology for Apartheid, have been writing letters and protesting Google's deal to sell technology to Israel since 2021. Since the Israel-Gaza war began in October, there has been an increase in cloud computing contracts between Google and Amazon employees, known as Nimbus. Critics of the plan say it would increase Israeli government surveillance of Palestinians and lead to further displacement and discrimination.
A Google spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the employees were fired for “physically interfering with the work of other employees and preventing access to our facilities.” It said it was “a clear violation of our company's policies and completely unacceptable behavior.”
“After refusing multiple requests to leave, law enforcement worked to remove them to ensure the security of the office,” the email said. “To date, we have completed the individual investigations that led to the termination of 28 employees, and we will continue to investigate and take action as necessary.”
The 28 laid-off employees, who were locked out of their work devices Tuesday night and notified of their termination by email that morning, said they were shocked and angry at the company's decision.
“I'm furious,” said one fired employee who helped organize the sit-in but did not directly participate. “This is a completely disproportionate response to workers who stand up for morality and want to hold Google accountable to its promises. It's unbelievable that we would fire people involved in events we don't like. .”
“This is a major escalation and a change in Google's response to employee criticism,” added the employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity for legal reasons.
The employee said members of the No Technology for Apartheid group had talked with their lawyers about suing Google. reportedly Labor law violation.
Workers occupied the office of Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian during a sit-in at Google's headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, on Tuesday. But the employees who took part in the action, whose videos were posted on Instagram, denied that they interfered with the work of other Google employees.
“Even the workers who participated in the peaceful sit-in and refused to leave did not damage property or threaten other workers,” said a No Tech for Apartheid spokesperson. Jane Chan said in an email. “Instead, they received an overwhelmingly positive response and expressions of support.”
Amazon also has a Nimbus contract with Israel, and Amazon employees took part in the No-Tech Action for Apartheid on Tuesday, although there are no reports of Amazon employees being arrested or fired. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post.
