Google fires its employee for protesting against contract with Israeli military
Technology
A Google Cloud engineer protested during Regev's speech, the managing director of Google Israel
(Web Desk) - Google has fired its employee for protesting against company’s support to Israel.
In a recent keynote address in New York, the managing director of Google's Israel business faced public protest from a Google Cloud engineer who expressed refusal to contribute to technology supporting genocide.
Subsequently, the engineer was fired, adding to Google's challenges in managing internal dissent.
This week, as tensions in Gaza escalated, Google's employee message board saw an influx of comments regarding the company's military contracts with Israel.
Over 600 Google employees have signed a letter urging the company to end its sponsorship of the annual Mind the Tech conference, a platform promoting the Israeli tech industry.
The request follows a recent event in New York featuring a speech by Barak Regev, the managing director of Google Israel.
A video capturing an employee's protest during Regev's speech went viral, with the individual shouting, "No cloud for apartheid." The crowd responded with boos as security escorted the protester out of the venue.
In response, Regev emphasized the importance of providing a platform for diverse opinions within a company that upholds democratic values.
Google announced the termination of the protesting employee, citing the disruption of an official company-sponsored event.
A spokesperson stated that such behavior is unacceptable, regardless of the issue, and the termination resulted from a violation of company policies. The specific policies breached were not explicitly outlined.
Google's involvement in providing technology to military entities, both in the U.S. and abroad, has been a longstanding source of discontent within its workforce.
Previous protests in 2018 centered around the Defense Department's Project Maven, and more recently, controversy surrounded Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion AI and computing services agreement involving Google, Amazon Web Services, and the Israeli government.
CEO Sundar Pichai has often found himself on the defensive at company events in the face of employee confrontations.
The recent escalation of the Middle East conflict has further heightened tension within Google, with the October attacks by Hamas leading to a military response that resulted in significant casualties and humanitarian concerns in the Palestinian enclave.
The board, intended to shape questions for an International Women's Day Summit in Silicon Valley, was shut down due to what a spokesperson referred to as "divisive content" disrupting the workplace.
