Microsoft recently fired another employee who interrupted a speech by CEO Satya Nadella to protest against the company for supplying the Israeli military with technology used for the war in Gaza.
The employee – Joe Lopez – who worked on parts of Microsoft’s cloud-computing platform, Azure, could be heard shouting at Nadella in the opening minutes of the tech giant’s annual Build developer conference in Seattle before being escorted out of the room.
Microsoft has previously fired employees who protested company events over its work in Israel, including at its 50th anniversary party in April.
What did the protester say
“Satya, how about you show how Microsoft is killing Palestinians,” Lopez yelled. “How about you show how Israeli war crimes are powered by Azure?” Lopez could be heard shouting at Nadella, reported The Guardian.
After the disruption, Lopez sent an email to all the staff of the company, explaining his decision to stage a protest.
The advocacy group No Azure for Apartheid, led by Microsoft’s employees and ex-employees, said that Lopez received a termination letter after his protest but couldn’t open it. The group also stated that the tech giant has blocked internal emails that mention words including “Palestine” and “Gaza,” reported AP.
What did Microsoft say
Last week, Microsoft admitted that it has been providing AI services to the Israeli military for the war in Gaza. However, the company said it has found no evidence so far that its Azure cloud or AI tools have been used to directly target or harm civilians in the region.
When it comes to the latest protests, Microsoft has stayed quiet. As per AP, the tech giant has not yet responded to emails asking about the backlash during the four-day developer conference, which concludes on Thursday.
Two other Microsoft employees fired
Lopez’s demonstration against his former employer Microsoft is the second of its kind in just the last two months.
On April 6, two Microsoft workers — Ibtihal Aboussad and Vaniya Agrawal, disrupted a Microsoft AI event and called the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) chief – Mustafa Suleyman – a war profiteer. Both workers have since been fired.
Google also saw similar internal protests and mass firings last year over its contracts with the Israeli military and government.