Microsoft said it was investigating employees who occupied the office of President Brad Smith at its headquarters on Tuesday to protest the company's cooperation with the Israeli government in the Gaza war. The protest group calls itself "No Azure for Apartheid" and used a live broadcast to show them entering Building 34 in Redmond, Washington, and hanging banners. A spokesman for the organization confirmed that several Microsoft employees participated in the operation and were arrested. Microsoft then briefly locked down the building.
Brad Smith held a press conference on Tuesday
Smith said at a news conference that the company was reviewing the employee's behavior, saying it "did not meet the standards of conduct expected of employees." He explained that Microsoft mainly provides network security support to the Israeli military. The company is also reviewing building security measures and contacted the FBI in April about possible disruptions.
In recent years, Microsoft and other technology giants have given employees greater space to express political stances, but since the Floyd incident in 2020, relevant policies have become stricter. In May, an engineer was fired for shouting opposition slogans during a public speech by CEO Nadella.
Protesters claim that Microsoft's Azure cloud service is being used to monitor and target civilians in Gaza. Microsoft responded by saying it was reviewing its cooperation with Israel and emphasized that its terms of service prohibited use to harm others and that it had found no evidence to support the accusations.