Google Fires 28 Employees Involved in Protest of Israeli Cloud Contract

Google has fired 28 employees who participated in sit-ins to protest the company’s cloud computing contract with the Israeli government. Nine employees were arrested for trespassing at the company’s offices. Google stated that physically impeding other employees’ work is unacceptable. Tensions had been escalating between the management and activist employees over Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion deal to provide cloud services to the Israeli government. The company plans to investigate the protests further. The fired employees claim that the dismissals are a form of retaliation. Google employees have previously pushed the company to end a deal with the U.S. Defense Department in 2018.