After firing 30 employees over political protests last week, Google has given the boot to another group of staffers.
More Firings at Google
Google has confirmed the firing of 20 more employees who have protested against the tech giant’s billion-dollar contract with the Israeli government.
April 16 Office Protests
The latest round of terminations came after nine Google employees were arrested on April 16 for holding pro-Palestine sit-in protests at Google offices. 30 employees were fired over the initial protests.
Google Confirms the News
A Google spokesperson acknowledged the latest round of staff terminations, claiming that they were the product of an internal investigation which confirmed that the 20 employees were involved with the protests.
Internal Investigation
“Our investigation into these events is now concluded, and we have terminated the employment of additional employees who were found to have been directly involved in disruptive activity,” said the company spokesperson, who referenced the “physical disruption inside our buildings on April 16.”
Project Nimbus Protests
All 50 employees were allegedly involved in office protests against Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion joint contract between Google, Amazon, and the Israeli government.
Cloud Computing Contract With Israel
The contract will provide cloud computing and artificial intelligence software and services to the government, as well as the Israeli military and defense department. Project Nimbus has generated intense backlash due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine in Gaza.
Office Protests
Last week a group of protestors poured into several Google office locations, including Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian in Sunnyvale California. Protestors held pro-Palestine posters and streamed the protest online before being removed by law enforcement.
No Tech For Apartheid
The activist group that organized the sit-in protests at Google, No Tech For Apartheid, has condemned the tech company for the 50 terminations, claiming that many of the terminated employees were not directly involved in the protests.
“Aggressive and Desperate Act of Retaliation”
“This evening, in an aggressive and desperate act of retaliation, Google fired over 20 additional workers — including non-participating bystanders during last week’s protests,” the group shared in a public statement.
Squashing Dissent, Silencing Workers
Spokesperson Jane Chung accused the tech company of “attempting to quash dissent, silence its workers, and reassert its power over them.”
Upending 50 Lives
“In its attempts to do so, Google has decided to unceremoniously, and without due process, upend the livelihoods of over 50 of its own workers,” she added. “That’s because Google values its profit, and its $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government and military, more than people.”
All Involved in Disruptive Activity?
The Google spokesperson seemed to address the claims by NTFA, adding “To reiterate, every single one of those whose employment was terminated was personally and definitively involved in disruptive activity inside our buildings. We carefully confirmed and reconfirmed this.”
Hidden Identities
Google also claimed that the reason it took an extra week to identify these people was because they were wearing masks or traditional Arab headscarves to signal their support for Palestine, and had either concealed or discarded their worker’s badges.
Leave Politics at the Door
Throughout the last week of protest-related controversy, Google executives and representatives have continued to reiterate that employees should keep politics out of the workplace.
Company Memo
Following the first round of terminations last week, Sundar Pichai, who is the CEO of both Google and its parent company Alphabet Inc. sent out a company-wide memo acknowledging the incident and warning against politics in the workplace.
Not Your Personal Platform
In the memo, Pichai told employees that “this is a business and not a place to act in a way that disrupts coworkers.” He urged them not to use the workplace as a “personal platform” to “fight over disruptive issues or debate politics.”
“Genocide Profiteers”
However, No Tech For Apartheid has maintained its stance that Pichai, Kurian, and other Google executives are ‘genocide profiteers.’
Political Divisions
The ongoing conflict in Gaza has become the most divisive political issue in America since the October 7 attacks by Hamas. The attack, and Israel’s counteroffensive, has led to tens of thousands of casualties.
Google Breaks Dubious Termination Record
Though Google is no stranger to firing employees who criticize the company, this is by far the largest amount of employees to be fired by the company in a single week.
Amazon Avoids Controversy
The office protests and subsequent terminations also stand in stark contrast to Amazon, which also signed on to the Project Nimbus contract but has not experienced similar protests or mass firings.
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