(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – Google’s decision to fire 28 employees, following their participation in a significant 10-hour sit-in protеst at the company’s New York and Sunnyvale, California offices, has sparked a heated debate.
The protest was a direct response to Google’s business dealings with the Israeli government, a move that many employееs did not agree with.
Also, the protest saw pro-Palestinian staff members wearing traditional Arab headscarves occupy a top executive’s office in California.
Google’s Vice President of Global Security, Chris Rackow, described the protesters’ actions as unacceptable, disruptive, and threatеning to other employees. The demonstration was part of the “No Tech for Genocide Day of Action,” which extended to Google’s Seattle office.
Rackow emphasized that such behavior violates Google’s workplace policies, which include the code of conduct and harassment, discrimination, retaliation, standards of conduct, and workplace concerns policies.
In addition, the company stated that disruptive behavior would not be tolerated and could lead to termination.
The fired employees are associated with No Tech For Apartheid and criticized Google’s participation in “Project Nimbus,” a $1.2 billion contract to provide cloud-computing and artificial intelligence services to the Israeli government and military.
The group feared the technology could be used against Palestinians in Gaza and they condemned Google’s actions as retaliation, which prioritize the contract over employee rights. They also accused Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai and Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian of profiting from genocide.
The New York City Police Department and Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety confirmed arrests for trespassing at the Google buildings during the protest. Google has since confirmed the firings, justifying the decision based on policy violations.
Moreover, the company underscored that impeding employees’ work and access to facilities is unacceptable while investigations into individual cases have resulted in 28 fires, with potential further actions pending.
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