Google has fired over 50 workers in the aftermath of protests over the company’s involvement in supplying technology to the Israeli government during the Gaza war. The latest round of terminations saw at least 20 more employees let go, according to a group representing the workers.
The protests were centered around “Project Nimbus,” a $1.2 billion contract signed in 2021 for Google and Amazon to provide cloud computing and artificial intelligence services to the Israeli government. Last week, workers staged sit-in protests at Google offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California, which resulted in arrests by the police called in by the company.
The group behind the protests, No Tech For Apartheid, claimed that Google fired 30 workers last week, and then an additional “over 20” employees on Tuesday night, including some who were not actively participating in the protests. The group accused Google of trying to silence dissent and exert control over its employees.
Google defended its actions, stating that the additional firings were based on an investigation that identified employees who were involved in disruptive activities inside the buildings. The company emphasized that it took careful steps to confirm the involvement of each terminated employee.
CEO Sundar Pichai had previously warned employees that they would be on a “short leash” as Google intensifies its efforts to improve its AI technology. The company’s actions have sparked debate over the balance between corporate responsibility and employee activism.