Google has been firing employees who are protesting against the company’s military contracts with Israel. The company has let 20 employees go this week.
Google terminates 20 employees for “disruptive activities” inside buildings
Google has terminated the employment of 20 of its employees this week. This is the second such round of mass layoffs for going against the company’s contracts with Israel.
According to The Washington Post, Google fired at least 20 more employees from its offices in Sunnyvale and New York. These workers were let go effective 16th April 2024.
Google had already fired 28 employees last week. All these terminations were in connection to protests organized in Google’s offices. These employees had actively participated in “sit-in protests”.
NEW: Google fires at least 20 more of its employees after the anti-Israel protest; bringing the total number terminated to around 50
This comes after Google fired about 30 employees last week after they were arrested for protesting at the company’s offices in Sunnyvale,… pic.twitter.com/wOnl1cJVA3
— Unlimited L’s (@unlimited_ls) April 23, 2024
A Google spokesperson has reportedly confirmed the company fired more workers as part of its investigation into the demonstration. The company, has, however, stressed that “every single one of those whose employment was terminated was personally and definitively involved in disruptive activity inside our buildings,”
Google has claimed it conducted a detailed investigation into the matter. The company has “carefully confirmed and reconfirmed,” the terminated employees’ active participation and involvement. “Our investigation into these events is now concluded,” the spokesperson added.
What is Project Nimbus and why are Google workers losing their jobs?
Google recently fired 28 employees from its offices in New York and California. The search giant has terminated the employment of several dozen employees over a single topic.
Specifically speaking, every employee, from the 48 Google has fired so far, participated in protests organized inside the company’s offices. These employees have been protesting Google’s cloud computing project called Project Nimbus.
Google fires 28 employees for protesting the company’s cloud contract with #Israel, following 9 employees arrests.
Full memo to Google employees warns that”if you’re one of the few who are tempted to think we’re going to overlook conduct that violates our policies, think again” pic.twitter.com/T5pdmp1dGD
— Nour Naim| نُور (@NourNaim88) April 18, 2024
Valued at $1.2 billion, Project Nimbus started in 2021. Time magazine had indicated Project Nimbus is a civilian project. It will allegedly help improve public sectors such as healthcare, transportation, and education.
The same report further stressed that Project Nimbus is not involved in “highly sensitive or classified military workloads relevant to weapons or intelligence services.”
Project Nimbus isn’t open for public scrutiny, and hence, shrouded in mystery. Some speculate it could bolster, or perhaps weaponize AI (Artificial Intelligence), for the Israeli military.
Google is working with another cloud computing giant Amazon to fulfill the contractual obligations of Project Nimbus. Google CEO Sundar Pichai issued a memo stating the company is open to debate and discussions but “there are limitations to the same.”
Even Google’s head of security, Chris Rackow reportedly issued a memo which added, “If you’re one of the few tempted to think we’re going to overlook conduct that violates our policies, think again.” This strongly indicates Google won’t cease stringent action against employees who participate in protests on the company’s premises.