Microsoft fires workers who protested its support for Israeli army

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Associated Press
8 Apr 2025 01:58
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Two Microsoft employees were reportedly dismissed after protesting the company for supplying the Israeli occupation with AI technology.

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A Microsoft sign and logo are pictured at the company's headquarters, on April 4, 2025, in Redmond, Washington, the United States. (AP)

Two Microsoft employees have been fired after interrupting the company's 50th anniversary event to denounce its involvement in supplying artificial intelligence (AI) technology to Israeli occupation forces, according to a workers' advocacy group.

The incident occurred on Friday when software engineer Ibtihal Aboussad interrupted a keynote speech by Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman. As he discussed the company’s future in artificial intelligence, Aboussad confronted him onstage, pointing to Microsoft's contribution to violence in the region.

"You claim that you care about using AI for good but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military," Aboussad told Suleyman. "Fifty thousand people have died and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region."

Suleyman responded briefly, thanking Aboussad for her protest and saying he heard her concerns, before she was removed from the stage after tossing a koufiyyeh—a symbol of the Palestinian people—toward him.

Later during the celebration, a second Microsoft employee, Vaniya Agrawal, also interrupted the proceedings in protest.

According to the group No Azure for Apartheid, which campaigns against Microsoft's AI and cloud computing contracts with the Israeli regime, Aboussad was informed during a video call with HR that she had been terminated. Agrawal received her dismissal notice via email.

Earlier this year, an Associated Press investigation revealed that AI tools developed by Microsoft and OpenAI had been used in an Israeli military program to identify bombing targets in recent attacks in Gaza and Lebanon. The report also highlighted a misdirected Israeli strike in 2023 that killed several civilians in Lebanon, including three young girls and their grandmother.

Back in February, five Microsoft employees were removed from a meeting with CEO Satya Nadella for similarly protesting the company’s military contracts.

In a statement issued Friday, Microsoft emphasized that it encourages employee expression, but urged that such actions not interfere with business operations. The company declined to confirm at that time whether further disciplinary actions were being considered. Aboussad reported that she lost access to her work accounts shortly after the protest and has been locked out since.