Microsoft has fired two software engineers for protesting the company’s contracts with the Israeli military. The dismissals happened during Microsoft’s 50th anniversary events. The company said the employees engaged in “willful misconduct” and disrupted business activities. This action comes amid growing concern about tech companies’ roles in armed conflicts.
Ibtihal Aboussad, an engineer from Canada, interrupted a keynote by Mustafa Suleyman, the CEO of Microsoft AI. She loudly criticized the company, saying, “Microsoft powers this genocide in our region.” After security escorted her out, she emailed top executives, including CEO Satya Nadella, to share her concerns. Microsoft later informed her that she was fired.
Vaniya Agrawal, another engineer based in the U.S., also protested during a session with Nadella. She had planned to resign on April 11 but ended up leaving immediately after the protest. In her email, Agrawal called Microsoft a “digital weapons manufacturer.”
These protests came after reports revealed that Microsoft technology was used in Israeli military operations in Gaza and Lebanon. Advocates for the fired employees claim the company retaliated against whistleblowers. The group “No Azure for Apartheid” argues that the employees were standing up for human rights and deserve to be reinstated.