Google fires 28 workers after office sit-ins to protest cloud contract with Israel
Google has fired 28 employees involved in protests over the tech company's cloud computing contract with the Israeli government, according to statements from the company and campaigners.
The workers held sit-ins at the company’s offices in California and New York over Google's $1.2 billion contract to provide custom tools for Israeli's military. They were fired on Wednesday evening after police earlier arrested nine people.
Google said “a small number of employee protesters entered and disrupted a few of our locations.”
ALSO READ: Google employees arrested for protesting against company's deal with Israel
“After refusing multiple requests to leave the premises, law enforcement was engaged to remove them to ensure office safety,” Google said.
The company said it carried out "individual investigations that resulted in the termination of employment for 28 employees, and will continue to investigate and take action as needed.”
The group behind the protests, No Tech for Apartheid, disputed Google's version of events, saying the company fired people who didn't directly participate.
The company's claim that the protests were part of a longstanding campaign by groups and “people who largely don’t work at Google” was untrue, the group said.
The group posted photos and videos on social media showing workers in Google offices holding placards and sitting on the floor, chanting slogans.
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
