Google Fires 28 Workers for Protesting $1.2 Billion Israel Contract
Google Fires 28 Workers for Protesting $1.2 Billion Israel Contract
The Facts
Google has fired 28 employees who participated in protests against the company's $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government and military to provide cloud and AI services.
The protests, organized by the group No Tech for Apartheid, took place on Tuesday at Google offices in New York City, Seattle, and Sunnyvale, California, with protestors demanding the company to drop its contract with the Israeli government. Nine people were arrested during the protests on Tuesday.
The Spin
While Google is aware that Tuesday's protests were the work of a small group of people who do not represent the majority of the company's employees, it is important to note that disruptive behavior like that demonstrated in Tuesday's protests has no place in the workplace. This unprofessionalism will not be tolerated, and Google is well within its rights to act against disorderly conduct, including firing employees. Google employees should think twice before violating the company's policies in the future.
The firing of these Google employees is retaliatory and unfair. Protestors were peaceful and these firings are illegal and retaliatory. Google should not be involved in any military contracts, and Project Nimbus and its association with the genocide taking place in Gaza is causing undue mental distress for employees. These firings go to show that the company cares more about profit and its agreements with the Israeli government than it does about the wellbeing of its own employees.
