HT Digital,
New Delhi, April 23: Google has reportedly fired at least 20 more employees, following the dismissal of 28 workers a week ago who were part of sit-in protests. The Verge reports that these layoffs are related to protests against Google’s deal with Israel amidst its conflict with Palestine.
The protests were sparked by concerns over Google’s $1.2 billion Project Nimbus, a cloud computing project with the Israeli government. The number of employees dismissed for protesting Project Nimbus has now increased to nearly 50. Jane Chung, a spokesperson for ‘No Tech for Apartheid’, said Google also fired ‘non-participating bystanders’ in the recent layoffs.
Earlier, nine Google employees who protested were reportedly arrested. Google’s head of security, Chris Rackow, criticised the protests, labelling them as disruptive and threatening.
Google then fired 28 employees after investigating the incident. Google CEO Sundar Pichai responded to the protests, highlighting the company’s open discussion culture but also emphasising the importance of a conducive work environment.
A Google spokesperson confirmed that all those dismissed were ‘personally and definitively’ involved in disruptive activities inside office buildings. The spokesperson concluded that the investigation is over, and additional employees found directly involved in disruptive activities have been fired.
