Google Fires 28 Employees over 10-Hour Sit-In Protest against Israel Ties

Google has recently terminated the employment of 28 of its workers who participated in a 10-hour sit-in protest at the company’s offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California. The protesters, who were affiliated with a group known as No Tech For Apartheid, were demonstrating against Google’s business connections with the Israel government, according to information obtained by The Post.

Disruptive Behavior Sparks Consequences

The terminated pro-Palestinian staffers, who had dressed in traditional Arab headscarves during the protest inside a top executive’s office in California, were found to be in violation of multiple company policies and were engaging in behavior deemed “unacceptable” and “extremely disruptive,” said Google’s vice president of global security, Chris Rackow. Their actions included occupying office spaces, defacing company property, and hindering the work of fellow employees.

Chris Rackow, in a companywide memo, emphasized Google’s commitment to maintaining a workplace conducive to collaboration and emphasized that the company would not tolerate such behavior that made co-workers feel threatened. Conclusively, the terminated workers were found to be in breach of Google’s policies regarding conduct, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, standards of conduct, and workplace concerns.

No Tech for Genocide Day of Action

As part of the broader “No Tech for Genocide Day of Action,” the sit-in protest not only occurred in Google’s New York and California offices but also extended to its Seattle branch. In New York, protesters took over Google’s 10th floor offices in Chelsea, while in Seattle, demonstrations outside the company’s offices aimed to raise concerns about Google’s alleged role in assisting the Israeli government’s actions.

The protesters, associated with the No Tech For Apartheid group, were adamant about Google withdrawing from a $1.2 billion contract called “Project Nimbus.” Under this project, Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services offer cloud-computing and artificial intelligence services to the Israeli government and military. Critics of the arrangement deem this technology potentially weaponized against the Palestinians in Gaza.

Public Backlash and Employee Criticism

As news of the employees’ firings spread, No Tech For Apartheid, speaking on behalf of the impacted workers, heavily criticized Google’s decision. A spokesperson for the group, Jane Chung, condemned the company for prioritizing its $1.2 billion contract with the “genocidal Israeli government and military” over its employees, whom she claimed created immense value for Google’s executives and shareholders.

The statement further referred to Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, and the CEO of Google’s cloud unit, Thomas Kurian, as “genocide profiteers.” The fired employees expressed outrage over the fact that, in their view, Google’s technologies contributed to the suffering of thousands of Palestinians.

Arrests and Further Investigations

During the protests, arrests were made for trespassing inside the Google building in both New York and California. In total, approximately 50 participants were involved in the protest in New York, while the California demonstration consisted of around 80 participants. At this time, it is unclear if all the arrested employees were among those terminated by Google. Prior to their firings, Google had placed the employees on administrative leave and cut their access to internal systems.

Google’s Response to the Firings

Following the release of news regarding the protests, Google’s spokesperson confirmed the terminations, acknowledging that a small number of employee protesters had indeed disrupted operations and violated company policies. The spokesperson stressed Google’s commitment to standards of behavior and discourse in the workplace, reiterating that disruptive behavior would not be tolerated.

Google’s Continuous Investigations and Actions

Google is continuing its investigations and has taken action by terminating the employment of 28 employees. Google seeks to enforce its policies consistently and will not overlook conduct that conflicts with its Code of Conduct and policies on harassment, discrimination, retaliation, standards of conduct, and workplace concerns. Further communication from company leaders regarding behavioral standards is also expected.