Google has reportedly laid off 28 employees who participated in sit-in protests at its offices regarding a Google contract with the Israeli government. This action followed the suspension and subsequent arrest of nine employees in the US earlier in the week, as per an IANS report.
The protests centered around a $1.2 billion Google Cloud contract for the Israeli government. In an internal memo to employees, Google stated that such behavior “has no place in our workplace, and we will not tolerate it.”
“The overwhelming majority of our employees do the right thing. If you’re one of the few who are tempted to think we’re going to overlook conduct that violates our policies, think again,” Google informed its staff.
The company emphasized its serious stance on the issue, stating, “The company takes this extremely seriously, and we will continue to apply our longstanding policies to take action against disruptive behavior — up to and including termination.”
In response, the group behind the protests, known as “No Tech for Apartheid,” criticized Google’s actions as “a flagrant act of retaliation.”
“Google workers have the right to peacefully protest about the terms and conditions of our labor. These firings were clearly retaliatory,” the group stated.
Google stated that after an investigation, “we terminated the employment of twenty-eight employees found to be involved. We will continue to investigate and take action as needed.”