Microsoft fires employees for protesting over company's ties to Israel
Microsoft has fired four employees who participated in protests on company premises against its ties to Israel during the Gaza war.
Microsoft has fired four employees who participated in protests on company premises against its ties to Israel during the Gaza war.
Anna Huttle and Ricky Fameli received voicemails announcing their release, the protest group No Azure for Apartheid said on Wednesday, Reuters reports .
It added on Thursday that two other employees, Nisreen Jaradat and Julius Shan, had also been fired. They were among the protesters who recently camped out at Microsoft headquarters.
Microsoft said the layoffs were due to serious violations of company policy that day. In a statement, the company said the recent demonstrations "created significant security concerns."
The protest group No Azure for Apartheid, whose name refers to Microsoft's Azure software, is demanding that the company sever its ties with Israel and pay reparations to the Palestinians.
“We are here because Microsoft continues to provide Israel with the tools it needs to commit genocide, while simultaneously exposing and misinforming its own employees about this reality,” Hettla said in a statement.
Gettle and Fameli were among seven protesters arrested Tuesday after they occupied the office of company president Brad Smith. The other five were former Microsoft employees and people not affiliated with the company.
A joint media investigation by The Guardian, the Israeli-Palestinian +972 Magazine and the Hebrew-language Local Call, published this month, revealed that Israel’s military intelligence service used Microsoft Azure software to store countless phone records of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
In response, Microsoft said, it has hired law firm Covington & Burling LLP to conduct an investigation.
Software Engineer Claims Google Fired Him for Anti-Israel Protest He Didn't Participate in
Software Engineer Claims Google Fired Him for Anti-Israel Protest He Didn't Participate in
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