Google, one of the world’s leading tech companies, has taken a significant step by terminating the employment of 28 of its employees. This decision comes in response to their involvement in a protest against Google’s business ties with Israel.
The protest centered around a $1.2 billion agreement known as “Project Nimbus,” which provides cloud services to the Israeli government, including its military.
The protest action took place on April 16, as a group of Google employees occupied the office of Thomas Kurian, Google Cloud CEO, in California. Their demands included ending business relations with what they termed the “Israeli apartheid government and military.”
The company’s response to the protest was swift. Chris Rackow, Google’s vice president of worldwide security, issued a memo outlining the reasons behind the termination of the employees. According to Rackow, the protestors engaged in disruptive behavior, including taking over office spaces, defacing property, and obstructing the work of their colleagues. Such actions, he stated, were deemed unacceptable and made other employees feel threatened.
⚡️⚡️28 employees entered Google CEO’s office and threatened to stay there until Google canceled its $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government.
Instead, Google has FIRED all of them from jobpic.twitter.com/LZSrksIY1U
— Megh Updates 🚨™ (@MeghUpdates) April 18, 2024
The terminated employees were part of the “No Tech for Apartheid” movement within Google, which sought to pressure Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, into ending its involvement in projects perceived as supporting the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza. Prior to their termination, these employees had been placed on administrative leave, with restricted access to the company’s internal systems.
Rackow emphasized that such behavior had no place in Google’s workplace and violated multiple company policies, including its code of conduct and policies on harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. He assured that Google would continue to investigate and take necessary actions as warranted.
The controversy surrounding Google’s involvement with Israel reflects the broader tension surrounding tech companies’ relationships with governments and geopolitical conflicts.
While Google has not directly commented on the terminations, the incident underscores the challenges faced by companies in navigating sensitive political issues while maintaining their corporate values and responsibilities.
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