Photo Credit: AP
In a bold assertion of its workplace policies, Google has terminated 28 employees for their involvement in protests over the company's $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government. The employees, part of a sit-in at Google's New York and California offices, they were accused of violating the company's code of conduct and policies on harassment, discrimination, retaliation, standards of conduct, and workplace concerns.
Chris Rackow, Google's Vice President of Global Security, stated in a memo, "Their behavior was unacceptable, extremely disruptive, and made co-workers feel threatened." He emphasized that such behavior has no place in the workplace and that the company will not tolerate it.
The fired employees, affiliated with the group No Tech For Apartheid, criticized Google's actions. They argued that they were indiscriminately terminated without direct participation in the protests. The group has been vocal against Google's involvement in Project Nimbus, a contract in which Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services provide cloud-computing and artificial intelligence services for the Israeli government and military.
No Tech For Apartheid spokesperson Jane Chung shared a statement from the impacted workers, "This evening, Google indiscriminately fired 28 workers, including those among us who did not directly participate in yesterday's historic, bicoastal 10-hour sit-in protests." The group contends that the technology provided under Project Nimbus could be weaponized against Palestinians in Gaza.
Google's stance is clear: the company takes policy violations seriously and is willing to enforce its rules up to and including termination. Rackow added, "We will continue to apply our longstanding policies to take action against disruptive behavior – up to and including termination."
The incident has sparked debate over the balance between employee activism and adherence to company policies. While Google asserts its commitment to maintaining a safe and respectful work environment, the terminated employees and their supporters view the firings as a suppression of their right to protest and raise ethical concerns.
