Watan-Microsoft fired two employees after they disrupted a celebration marking the company’s 50th anniversary in protest of its collaboration in providing AI technology to the Israeli military, according to a group representing workers at the company. Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment about the incident as of Monday.
The protests began on Friday when Moroccan software engineer Ibtihal Abou El Saad took to the stage during a presentation by Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President of AI, who was announcing new features and future visions for the company’s AI ambitions. Abou El Saad shouted, “Mustafa, shame on you,” accusing the company of selling AI weapons to the Israeli army. She added, “50,000 people have died, and Microsoft is supporting this genocide in our region.”
The protest interrupted Suleyman’s speech, which was being broadcast live from Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, in the presence of company founder Bill Gates and former CEO Steve Ballmer. Suleyman responded, “Thank you for your protest, I hear you.” But Abou El Saad continued shouting, accusing Suleyman and Microsoft of having “blood on their hands,” before throwing a keffiyeh onto the stage and being removed from the event.
More Employees Join Protest, Face Termination
She wasn’t the only one to protest. Another employee, Vanya Agrawal, interrupted a different part of the event during the presence of Gates, Ballmer, and current CEO Satya Nadella on stage. Abou El Saad reported that she was notified of her termination via a video call with an HR representative on Monday. Agrawal received her termination notice via email.
A previous investigation by the Associated Press had revealed that AI models from Microsoft and OpenAI were being used in an Israeli military program to select bombing targets during the genocidal war in Gaza and the assault on Lebanon.
This is not the first time Microsoft has faced employee protests over its ties to Israel. In February, the company dismissed five employees from a meeting with Nadella for protesting contracts with the Israeli state.
Big Tech Faces Growing Worker Backlash
In a statement issued on Friday, Microsoft said: “We provide many avenues for all voices to be heard. It is important that this occurs in a way that does not disrupt business. When that happens, we ask participants to move to another location. We are committed to ensuring that our business practices uphold the highest standards.”
The company declined to comment on whether it would take further action. Abou El Saad said she lost access to her work accounts shortly after the protest.
It’s worth noting that dozens of Google employees were fired last year for protesting a $1.2 billion contract, known as Project Nimbus, to provide AI technology to the Israeli government. Google offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California, saw sit-ins in protest of the deal, and the fired workers filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board to regain their jobs.
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