Google fired 28 employees in connection with sit-in protests at two of its offices this week, according to an internal memo. The firings come after 9 employees were suspended and then arrested in New York and California.
The fired employees were involved in protesting Google’s involvement in Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion Israeli government cloud contract that also includes Amazon. Some of them occupied the office of Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian until they were forcibly removed by law enforcement. Last month, Google fired another employee for protesting the contract during a company presentation in Israel.
The employees who were terminated had participated in protests against Google’s participation in Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion cloud computing contract with the Israeli government, which Amazon is also involved in. Several protesters occupied the office of Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian and were later removed by law enforcement. Additionally, last month, Google dismissed an employee who protested the contract during a company presentation in Israel.
Organizations such as Jewish Voice for Peace and MPower Change launched a campaign called “No Tech For Apartheid” (#NoTechForApartheid) opposing the project.
What is Project Nimbus
Project Nimbus is a cloud computing initiative involving the Israeli government and its military. Announced by the Israeli Finance Ministry in April 2021, the project aims to deliver a comprehensive cloud solution to the government, defense establishment, and other sectors. The contract stipulates that the involved companies will create local cloud sites designed to secure information within Israel’s borders, adhering to strict security guidelines.
Criticism
The contract has faced criticism and condemnation from both the companies’ shareholders and employees. They have raised concerns that the project may contribute to human rights abuses against Palestinians amid the ongoing occupation and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Specifically, there are worries about the potential for the technology to enhance surveillance of Palestinians, enable unlawful data collection, and facilitate the expansion of Israel’s settlements on Palestinian land, which are considered illegal under international law.
In March 2024, A Google cloud software engineer was fired after a video of them shouting “I refuse to build technology that empowers genocide,” in reference to Project Nimbus, at a company event went viral.
Ariel Koren, a marketing manager for Google’s educational products and vocal critic of the project, was presented with an ultimatum to relocate to São Paulo within 17 days or face termination. In her resignation letter to colleagues, Koren accused Google of systematically silencing voices of concern – Palestinian, Jewish, Arab, and Muslim, regarding the company’s role in Palestinian human rights abuses, suggesting that this repression reached the extent of retaliating against employees and fostering a workplace atmosphere of fear.
She viewed her relocation ultimatum as retaliation for her opposition to and activism against the project. Koren filed complaints of retaliation with Google’s human resources department and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB); however, the NLRB dismissed her case, citing a lack of evidence and determining that the ultimatum was issued before her protected activities began.
