Google laid off 28 employees within the wake of Tuesday's ceasefire protests at company facilities, in line with an organization memo sent to employees on Wednesday.
About 80 employees protested outside Google's Sunnyvale complex, demanding the corporate abandon Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract that gives computer services to the Israeli Defense Ministry. They also called on the corporate to finish the harassment, intimidation and censorship of Muslim, Arab and Palestinian employees. While the protest was peaceful, five were arrested by Sunnyvale police on trespassing charges following a sit-in at an organization constructing. Similar sit-ins and protests took place at Google's New York office.
The memo, which was publicly shared online Wednesday by news outlets and employees, doesn’t indicate how lots of the 28 employees worked within the Bay Area.
Google says the protesters' behavior violates several policies and codes of conduct that every one employees must adhere to.
“The company takes this extremely seriously and we will continue to apply our long-standing policies to address disruptive behavior – up to and including termination,” the memo said.
Advocacy group Notech4apartheid, which also helped organize the protest, condemned the firings in a web based statement.
“This blatant retaliation is a clear sign that Google values its $1.2 billion contract with the genocidal Israeli government and military more than its own workers,” the group states.
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