The tech giant said its employees engaged in “totally unacceptable behavior” during a sit-in at the company's offices.
Google has fired 28 employees following sit-in protests over the tech giant's contract to provide cloud computing and artificial intelligence services to the Israeli government.
The firings came after the No Tech for Apartheid group occupied Google offices in California and New York on Tuesday to protest the $1.2 billion contract known as Project Nimbus.
Video of the demonstrations shared on social media showed police arresting employees at Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian's office.
Google said in a statement Thursday that physically interfering with employees or preventing access to company facilities is “a clear violation of our policies and completely unacceptable conduct.”
“After refusing multiple requests to leave, law enforcement worked to remove them to ensure the security of the office,” the spokesperson said. “To date, we have completed the individual investigations that led to the termination of 28 employees, and we will continue to investigate and take action as necessary.”
Google also denied that the deal was related to weapons or intelligence activities.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai issued a confidential warning to protesting employees in a blog post.
“We have a vibrant, open discussion culture that allows us to develop great products and turn great ideas into action. That's important to preserve. But ultimately We are a workplace, and our policies and expectations are clear. This is a business, and you should not disturb your coworkers, make them feel unsafe, or try to use the company as a personal platform. This is not the place to do anything that makes you feel unsafe, to fight over subversive issues or to discuss politics,'' Pichai said. “This is too important a moment for businesses to be distracted.”
No Tech for Apartheid accused Google of retaliation, saying the fired included staff who had not directly participated in the protests.
“This flagrant act of retaliation clearly shows that Google values its $1.2 billion contract with the genocidal Israeli government and military more than its own workers. “In the three years we have been organizing against Project Nimbus, we have yet to hear from a single executive regarding our concerns,” they said in a statement posted on Medium.
No Tech For Aparttheid also said claims that protesters defaced property and physically interfered with other employees' work are “lies.”
“Even the workers who were participating in peaceful sit-ins and refusing to leave did not damage property or threaten other workers. Instead, they overwhelmingly supported We have received overwhelming responses and expressions of support,” the group said.