Microsoft terminates two employees over demanding cutting ties with Israel
(MENAFN) Microsoft has fired two staff members following a break-in at the office of President Brad Smith during a protest over the company’s connections to Israel, according to reports.
The incident occurred on Tuesday at the company’s Redmond headquarters, when seven current and former employees associated with the activist group No Azure for Apartheid entered Smith’s office to demand an end to what they described as direct and indirect support for Israel in its genocide in Gaza.
No Azure for Apartheid, a group named after Microsoft’s cloud service Azure, later identified the terminated employees on Instagram as Riki Fameli and Anna Hattle. “Two employees were terminated today following serious breaches of company policies and our code of conduct,” a Microsoft spokesperson said, describing the actions as “unlawful break-ins” that violated workplace rules, according to reports.
During the protest, demonstrators held banners and chanted slogans inside Smith’s office, renaming it the “Mai Ubeid Building” in memory of a Palestinian software engineer killed in a 2023 Israeli airstrike, and calling on Microsoft to “cut ties with Israel,” among other demands. Authorities arrested all seven participants who entered the executive office.
Over the past year, Microsoft has reportedly faced ongoing internal pressure from employees urging the company to reconsider its business relations with Israel amid the Gaza genocide, though the movement has remained relatively small.
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