Google terminated over 20 additional employees following protests against the company’s technology support for the Israeli government during the Gaza genocide, according to a workers’ group, bringing the total dismissals to more than 50.
This development reflects ongoing internal unrest at the tech giant related to “Project Nimbus,” a $1.2 billion contract with Israel for cloud computing and AI services signed in 2021 by Google and Amazon.
Workers staged sit-in demonstrations last week at Google offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California, prompting the company to involve law enforcement, resulting in arrests.
No Tech For Apartheid, the group organising the protests, reported that Google fired 30 employees last week, exceeding their initial announcement of 28 dismissals. On Tuesday night, Google dismissed “over 20” more employees, including bystanders from the previous protests, as per spokeswoman Jane Chung, though she did not specify an exact number.
Chung stated in a press release, “Google’s intentions are clear: the company is seeking to suppress dissent, silence its employees, and assert control over them.”
Google defended its actions, citing an investigation that identified employees engaged in disruptive behavior and others attempting to conceal their identities with masks and without staff badges. The company did not specify the exact number terminated.
The company refuted claims made by the group, asserting that each termination was based on confirmed involvement in disruptive activities within company premises.
Earlier, CEO Sundar Pichai had hinted at potential further dismissals in a blog post, emphasizing stringent measures as Google enhances its AI technology.
