Microsoft has fired two employees after a protest in the company president’s office over Israel’s war in Gaza.
Supporters of the campaign group No Azure for Apartheid gained entry into Brad Smith’s office at Microsoft headquarters in Richmond, Washington on Tuesday.
Police arrested seven people, including current and former employees, the group said. The software giant has now confirmed two staff members have been let go.
“Two employees were terminated following serious breaches of company policies and our code of conduct,” Microsoft said in a statement to The Independent, without naming the individuals.
“The first violated the Business Conduct Policy, participated in the unlawful break-in at the executive offices, and other demonstrations on campus, and was arrested by authorities on our premises on two occasions,” the statement continued.
“The second was involved in the break-in at the executive offices and was subsequently arrested. These incidents are inconsistent with the expectations we maintain for our employees. The company is continuing to investigate and is cooperating fully with law enforcement regarding these matters.”
Separately, No Azure for Apartheid said in a post on Instagram that software engineers Riki Fameli and Anna Hattle had been fired by the company, after participating in a sit-in in Smith’s office demanding the company cut ties with Israel.
The protesters could be seen huddled together on a Twitch livestream as officers moved in to arrest them, with another group assembled outside.
The tech giant has been facing a series of demonstrations over claims its Azure cloud software has been used by the Israeli military, to store phone call data obtained through the mass surveillance of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Last week, police officers arrested 18 people taking part in a pro-Palestine protest outside the Washington state headquarters.
Redmond police said officers were dispatched to a large gathering in the Microsoft courtyard, on Wednesday at around 12:15 p.m.
“Officers initially attempted to trespass the protestors, but they resisted and became aggressive,” the Redmond Police Department said.
Images posted online by the department showed the Microsoft sign drenched in red paint.
Microsoft has said it hired an outside law firm to investigate the allegations.
“We are working every day to get to the bottom of what’s going on,” said President Smith said in a statement following the arrests Tuesday. “There are many things we can’t do to change the world, but we will do what we can and what we should.
“That starts with ensuring that our human rights principles and contractual terms of service are upheld everywhere, by all of our customers around the world.”
