Google Fires 28 Employees Involved in Sit-In Protest Against Israel Deal

Google fired 28 employees last week who protested Google’s role in Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion cloud contract with the Israeli government that also involves Amazon. The news was reported by the Verge on 17 April after receiving an internal memo.

The firings occurred following the arrest of 9 employees who were part of sit-in protests at Google’s offices in Sunnyvale, California, and New York City. They were detained for several hours and then released, according to other employees.

Some of the employees occupied the office of Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian until law enforcement removed them. Google fired another employee last month for protesting this contract.

In the internal memo published by the Verge, Chris Rackow, the head of global security at Google, said, “If you’re one of the few who are tempted to think we’re going to overlook conduct that violates our policies, think again.” He clearly mentioned that the company strictly enforces its policies against disruptive behavior, which can lead to termination.

Chris Rackow also pointed out that the actions of terminated employees violated several company policies, including those regarding conduct, harassment, discrimination, and workplace standards. “Behavior like this has no place in our workplace, and we will not tolerate it,” he added.

One fired employee who helped organize the sit-in but did not directly participate told the Washington Post, “I’m furious.” The employee expressed disbelief at the company’s decision to fire individuals merely for being associated with an event not favored by the company.

According to the employee, the firings represent a significant escalation and a shift in how Google has previously responded to worker criticisms. The employee also said that members of the No Tech for Apartheid group have consulted with a lawyer about potentially pursuing legal action against Google for alleged violations of labor law.

The “No Tech for Apartheid” group, which organized the protests, described Google’s firings as retaliatory in a Medium post. They mentioned that no Google executive has addressed their concerns despite 3 years of voicing concerns over Project Nimbus. The group emphasized that Google workers should have the right to peacefully protest labor conditions, asserting that the firings were clearly in retaliation.