Microsoft confirmed on Thursday that it terminated two employees who broke into President Brad Smith’s office earlier this week.
The firings followed a protest on Tuesday at the company’s Redmond, Washington, headquarters. Seven current and former employees staged the demonstration in opposition to Israel’s reported use of Microsoft’s software in its military operations in Gaza.
Protest Inside the Executive Offices
The protesters, aligned with the group No Azure for Apartheid, entered Smith’s office and demanded Microsoft end all direct and indirect support for Israel. In a statement, Microsoft described the incident as a serious violation.
“Two employees were terminated today following serious breaches of company policies and our code of conduct,” a spokesperson said, noting the break-ins were unlawful. The company added that it continues to investigate and is cooperating with law enforcement.
Smith later claimed the protesters blocked access to the office, left listening devices in the form of phones, and refused to leave until police intervened.
On Instagram, the activist group identified the fired employees as Riki Fameli and Anna Hattle. At a press conference Thursday, the group also said Microsoft had dismissed two more employees — Nisreen Jaradat and Julius Shan — for participating in earlier demonstrations in August.
The group describes itself as “a movement of Microsoft workers demanding that Microsoft end its direct and indirect complicity in Israeli apartheid and genocide.”
Microsoft’s Broader Context
The firings come as the company faces growing internal dissent over its contracts with Israel. The Guardian reported earlier this month that the Israeli military used Microsoft’s Azure cloud to store Palestinian phone calls, prompting Microsoft to authorize a third-party investigation into potential surveillance.
Smith has pledged to “investigate and get to the truth” about how the company’s services are being used.
In recent months, No Azure for Apartheid has staged protests at several Microsoft events, including the company’s Build developer conference and its 50th anniversary celebration. Some of these demonstrations led to mass arrests, with the majority of those detained having no direct employment history with Microsoft.
Microsoft’s actions mirror a broader trend across Silicon Valley. Last year, Google fired 28 employees following protests against its labor practices and contracts with the Israeli government for cloud and AI services. In that case, some employees occupied the office of Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian.
Author’s Opinion
Microsoft’s decision to fire employees over protests highlights the growing tension between corporate accountability and employee activism. On one hand, companies cannot allow break-ins at executive offices or disruptions that could compromise security. On the other, these terminations risk signaling that dissent on moral or political grounds has no place inside the workplace. With tech giants increasingly entangled in global conflicts through their products, these clashes may only intensify, raising difficult questions about where companies draw the line between compliance, profit, and responsibility.
Featured image credit: Tadas Sar via Unsplash
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