Two Microsoft employees were terminated following an on-stage protest during the company’s 50th anniversary celebration last Friday, The Associated Press reports.
The protest, which took place at Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, was aimed at the company's involvement in supplying artificial intelligence technologies to the Israeli military, according to an advocacy group backing the workers.
Microsoft has not issued a public comment regarding the dismissals, which were first reported by the group No Azure for Apartheid, a collective of employees and activists opposing Microsoft’s cloud computing contracts with Israel.
The first disruption occurred while Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman was presenting future AI initiatives. Microsoft software engineer Ibtihal Aboussad approached the stage and shouted, “You claim that you care about using AI for good but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military. 50,000 people have died and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region.”
Suleyman briefly paused, responding, “Thank you for your protest, I hear you.” Aboussad continued shouting, accusing company leadership of having “blood on their hands” and tossing a keffiyeh scarf onto the stage before being escorted out.
A second protester, Microsoft employee Vaniya Agrawal, later interrupted another segment of the event.
Both individuals have since been terminated. According to No Azure for Apartheid, Aboussad was informed of her dismissal during a virtual meeting with human resources, while Agrawal was notified via email. The group claims the terminations were in direct response to their protests against Microsoft's role in supplying AI tools to the Israeli military.
In response to questions surrounding employee activism, Microsoft reiterated on Friday, “We provide many avenues for all voices to be heard. Importantly, we ask that this be done in a way that does not cause a business disruption. If that happens, we ask participants to relocate. We are committed to ensuring our business practices uphold the highest standards.”
The company did not confirm whether further disciplinary actions were being considered. Aboussad stated she lost access to her work accounts shortly after the protest and was unable to regain entry.