Google fires more workers who protested its deal with Israel

A Google spokesperson confirmed it had fired more workers after continuing its investigation into the April 16 protests, which included sit-ins at Google offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California.

The layoffs come days after Chief Executive Sundar Pichai told employees in a company-wide memo that they should not use the company as a “personal platform” or “fight over issues.” disruptive or debate politics.”

“The company is trying to crush dissent, silence its workers and reassert its power over them,” said Jane Chung, a spokeswoman for No Tech for Apartheid, a group protesting Google and Google’s contracts. ‘Amazon with the Israeli government since 2021.

The protests at Google are part of a wave of opposition to the US government and companies working with the Israeli government and military. Pro-Palestinian protesters have been arrested in recent days at Yale and Columbia universities, sparking accusations of brutality from university officials and inspiring a new wave of protests at other universities across the country. The day before the Google sit-ins, activists blocked highways, bridges and airport entrances across the United States to protest the war in Gaza.

At Google, the situation has become a public fight between Google executives and fired employees. Google says every laid-off worker actively disrupted its offices, while workers dispute these claims, saying some of those fired did not even enter the company’s offices on the day of the coordinated protests against the company.

Google has fired employees in the past who publicly criticized the company, but it hasn’t fired that many people at once. For years, Google has had a reputation for being the freest and most open among the big tech companies in terms of office culture and collaboration. The company celebrated an internal culture in which employees knew what other teams were working on and were encouraged to question leaders’ decisions.

In his note to workers, Pichai said the company’s openness was a strength but applied to professional, not political, matters.

“We have a culture of vibrant, open discussion that allows us to create amazing products and turn big ideas into action,” he said in the company’s online memo. “But at the end of the day, we are a workplace and our policies and expectations are clear: This is a business.”