Google has fired an additional 20 employees amidst an internal protest regarding the company's involvement in an Israeli defence contract. These terminations, labelled as "non-participating bystanders," have intensified an ongoing discord within Google.
The recent wave of job cuts follows the dismissal of 28 employees involved in last week's protest against Project Nimbus, a significant $1.2 billion defence contract with Israel.
The protest initially led to the arrest of nine employees and drew criticism from Google's head of security, Chris Rackow, who denounced the demonstrations as disruptive.
Rackow's memo highlighted Google's investigation into the incident and the subsequent termination of 28 employees found to be involved, underscoring the company's commitment to workplace conduct policies.
CEO Sundar Pichai echoed Rackow's sentiments, emphasising Google's culture of open dialogue while affirming the importance of maintaining a productive environment. He stressed that while vibrant discussion is encouraged, disruptive behaviour that makes coworkers feel unsafe is unacceptable.
The protest stemmed from Google's involvement in Project Nimbus, a cloud computing agreement with the Israeli government signed in 2021. Employees, part of the No Tech for Apartheid movement within Google, voiced their opposition to the company's business decisions.
Protests escalated as employees occupied Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian's office for over eight hours, demanding an end to ties with the Israeli military and addressing worker safety concerns.
As tensions mounted, company officials placed protesters on administrative leave and asked them to leave, resulting in police intervention and arrests.
The demonstration highlighted internal dissent over Google's business partnerships and underscored the challenges of balancing corporate interests with employee activism.
