GOOGLE FIRES 20 MORE EMPLOYEES FOR PROTESTING OVER ITS ISRAEL CONTRACT

Google has terminated 20 more employees in the wake of an internal protest surrounding the company's involvement in an Israeli defense contract, organisers told The Verge. The people who have been laid off at Google are the "non-participating bystanders," as per the details revealed by Jane Chung, a spokesperson for No Tech for Apartheid.

The latest round of terminations comes on the heels of the dismissal of 28 employees who participated in last week's protest against Google's involvement in Project Nimbus, a substantial $1.2 billion defense contract. Chung also disclosed that these recent terminations have propelled the total number of job cuts to over 50, marking a substantial escalation in the ongoing internal discord within Google.

The protest initially led to the arrest of nine employees and drew condemnation from Google's head of security, Chris Rackow, who circulated a company-wide memo denouncing the demonstrations as disruptive and threatening to colleagues. Rackow's memo highlighted Google's investigation into the incident and subsequent termination of 28 employees found to be involved, serving as a stark reminder of the company's workplace conduct policies.

CEO Sundar Pichai also echoed Rackow's sentiments, affirming Google's commitment to having an environment of open dialogue while emphasising the importance of maintaining boundaries.

"We have a culture of vibrant, open discussion that enables us to create amazing products and turn great ideas into action. That's important to preserve," Pichai said.

He also asserted that the tech company's policies are clear. "This is a business, and not a place to act in a way that disrupts coworkers or makes them feel unsafe, to attempt to use the company as a personal platform, or to fight over disruptive issues or debate politics," Pichai told employees in a memo.

But, how did it all start? Recently, several Google employees in California and New York protested against the company for working with the Israeli government. The employees were protesting against Project Nimbus, a cloud computing agreement between Israel and Google that was signed back in 2021. The protest was staged at various Google offices, including New York and California. The demonstrators were part of the No Tech for Apartheid movement, a group within Google that has been increasingly vocal about the company's business decisions.

Protests intensified as employees occupied Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian's office for over eight hours, streaming their sit-in demands on Twitch. They called for Google to end its ties with the Israeli military, address worker safety concerns, and more. As the evening progressed, company officials placed the protesters on administrative leave and asked them to leave, leading to police intervention and arrests, concluding the livestream abruptly.

 

2024-04-23T14:27:55Z dg43tfdfdgfd