Google terminated over 20 additional employees in connection to protests over its involvement with the Israeli government Tuesday, ABC News reported.
Google has fired more than 20 employees tied to protests against its Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract to supply cloud and AI services to the Israeli government. This latest round of dismissals brings the total number of employees let go to over 50, says No Tech For Apartheid, the group leading the protests, according to ABC News.
UPDATE: Google has fired over 50 workers, including non-participating bystanders.
Read @NoTechApartheid‘s statement: https://t.co/oaqQFbJ9Yp https://t.co/RbMzzbbv5l pic.twitter.com/JySvpldYIh
— jane chung (@orientaljanedoe) April 23, 2024
The conflict within the company intensified following sit-in protests at Google’s New York and Sunnyvale, California, offices. In response to the demonstrations, Google called the police, resulting in several arrests. Subsequently, the company announced the firing of 30 employees, adjusting from an initial count of 28, the outlet stated.
The latest terminations included over 20 individuals, some of whom were not actively participating in the protests, according to Jane Chung, a spokesperson for No Tech For Apartheid. Chung criticized Google’s actions, accusing the company of trying to suppress opposition and control its workforce without a fair process.
“Google’s aims are clear: the corporation is attempting to quash dissent, silence its workers, and reassert its power over them. 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,” Chung said in a press release.
“That’s because Google values its profit, and its $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government and military, more than people. And it certainly values it over its own workers.” (RELATED: Ex-Google Engineer Charged With Stealing Trade Secrets While Working For Chinese Companies)
UPDATE: Google orders arrests against its workers for protesting labor conditions and against the company’s $1B contract with Israel. https://t.co/FI1wrYyf6t pic.twitter.com/PzQkzF3OGp
— jane chung (@orientaljanedoe) April 17, 2024
Google has defended its decision, saying it conducted a thorough investigation which revealed the terminated employees engaged in disruptive actions, including some who wore masks and avoided carrying their identification badges to conceal their identities, ABC News reported.
Despite these claims, Google refuted the group’s allegations, insisting all dismissals were justified, with each individual definitively linked to disruptive behavior within company premises, according to ABC News.