麻豆传媒

Skip to main content

Google fires more workers who protested its deal with Israel

A person rides past the Google sign outside the Google offices in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Terry Chea) A person rides past the Google sign outside the Google offices in Sunnyvale, Calif., on Thursday, April 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)
Share

Google fired at least 20 more workers in the aftermath of protests over technology the company is supplying the Israeli government amid the Gaza war, bringing the total number of terminated staff to more than 50, a group representing the workers said.

It's the latest sign of internal turmoil at the tech giant centred on 鈥淧roject Nimbus,鈥 a US$1.2 billion contract signed in 2021 for Google and Amazon to provide the Israeli government with cloud computing and artificial intelligence services.

Workers held sit-in protests last week at Google offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California. The company responded by calling the police, who made arrests.

The group organizing the protests, No Tech For Apartheid, said the company fired 30 workers last week 鈥 higher than the initial 28 they had announced.

Then, on Tuesday night, Google fired 鈥渙ver 20鈥 more staffers, 鈥渋ncluding non-participating bystanders during last week鈥檚 protests,鈥 said Jane Chung, a spokeswoman for No Tech For Apartheid, without providing a more specific number.

鈥淕oogle鈥檚 aims are clear: the corporation is attempting to quash dissent, silence its workers, and reassert its power over them,鈥 Chung said in a press release. 鈥淚n its attempts to do so, Google has decided to unceremoniously, and without due process, upend the livelihoods of over 50 of its own workers.鈥

Google said it fired the additional workers after its investigation gathered details from coworkers who were 鈥減hysically disrupted鈥 and it identified employees who used masks and didn't carry their staff badges to hide their identities. It didn't specify how many were fired.

The company disputed the group's claims, saying that it carefully confirmed that 鈥渆very single one of those whose employment was terminated was personally and definitively involved in disruptive activity inside our buildings.鈥

The Mountain View, California, company had previously signalled that more people could be fired, with CEO Sundar Pichai indicating in a blog post that employees would be on a short leash as the company intensifies its efforts to improve its . 

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Debate gets testy as MPs consider confidence motion in PM Trudeau

MPs debated the first non-confidence motion of the fall House of Commons sitting today, seeing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre push once again for a snap election. But with votes secured to keep them afloat, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals were quick to turn the discussion into a referendum on the Conservative alternative.

A city councillor in British Columbia says an online mob of "extremists" and "politically motivated hackers" is responsible for uncovering and publicizing a photo of him wearing a blackface costume to a Halloween party in 2007.

After Ontario Premier Doug Ford made controversial comments about solutions to get people out of homeless encampments, advocates and members of the opposition spoke up on Tuesday.

Four puppies were found near County Road 21 in Essa Township after a passerby spotted one when it ran out of the ditch and onto the road.

We've all had neighbours we didn't like, but two people from Sault Ste. Marie have been awarded more than half a million dollars for the 'extreme' behaviour of the people who lived next to them.

Local Spotlight

Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.

An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.

Fire has destroyed a barn and 17,000 plants at a family-owned business in Lower Coverdale, N.B.

Before influencers on social media, Canada鈥檚 Jeanne Beker was bringing the world of high fashion down to earth and as Calgary鈥檚 Glenbow Museum gets a major make-over, it will include a new exhibition showcasing the pop culture icon.

A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.

A Nova Scotian YouTuber has launched a mini-truck bookmobile.

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

Stay Connected