Google has made headlines by firing 28 employees who participated in protests against the company’s $1.2 billion joint contract with Amazon.com to provide AI and cloud services to the Israeli government.
The protests, organized by the No Tech for Apartheid organization, took place across Google offices in New York City, Seattle, and Sunnyvale, California.
The demonstrators were advocating for Google to cancel its Project Nimbus contract and cease business with the Israeli government. The protesters staged a nearly 10-hour sit-in, with some documenting the action through a Twitch livestream. However, their efforts were met with resistance from the company.
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Because of their involvement in the protests, Google first put the 28 employees on administrative leave and then terminated them later.
The company cited the violation of policies and the obstruction of other employees’ work as the reasons for their dismissal. Google stressed the importance of maintaining office safety and the need to ensure that employees have access to the facilities without disruption.
“Physically impeding other employees’ work and preventing them from accessing our facilities is a clear violation of our policies, and completely unacceptable behavior,” the company said in a statement.
The statement added, “Google workers have the right to peacefully protest about the terms and conditions of our labor.”
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Tech companies have been traditionally seen as having more egalitarian and cosmopolitan work cultures. However, the response to labor activism within their ranks has sometimes been perceived as draconian.
The outcome of these protests and the subsequent terminations may set a precedent for how tech companies handle employee activism in the future. It remains to be seen whether Google’s actions will deter or embolden future protests within the company and the broader tech industry.
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