Microsoft fired two employees Wednesday who were arrested after breaching a building at its headquarters Tuesday afternoon to protest the tech giant's ties to Israel, according to the company.
The two employees were fired for violating the company's code of conduct during a sit-in Tuesday in President Brad Smith’s office, a spokesperson confirmed in an emailed statement. They were among the seven people arrested on suspicion of trespassing, resisting arrest and obstruction.
These incidents are inconsistent with the expectations we maintain for our employees," Microsoft said in a statement Wednesday night. "The company is continuing to investigate and is cooperating fully with law enforcement regarding these matters."
The security breach was first publicized Tuesday by No Azure for Apartheid, a group of Microsoft workers and others opposed to the use of the company’s technology by the Israeli government and military.
In a Wednesday news release, the group said the workers lost access to their Microsoft accounts before they received voicemails Wednesday that they had been terminated. They were not provided any specific company policy violation as the basis for their firing, said No Azure for Apartheid.
"We are here because Microsoft continues to provide Israel with the tools it needs to commit genocide while gaslighting and misdirecting its own workers about this reality," one fired employee said in the news release. "We are a few among thousands of workers who refuse to let their labor be used for the mass murder of Palestinians.
Smith held a news conference in his office hours after its occupation Tuesday and said activists planted crude listening devices, such as cellphones hidden under couches and behind books, in the building during the occupation.
Several protests have been staged at Microsoft’s Redmond campus in recent weeks, leading to firings and arrests as activists escalate their call for the company to disclose and sever all ties with the Israeli government and military. Microsoft announced last week it was conducting an independent investigation into how its Azure cloud computing technology is used by the Israel Defense Forces.
Dozens of activists occupied part of a Microsoft campus plaza for two days last week. Redmond police arrested at least 18 protesters on Aug. 20 on suspicion of trespassing, malicious mischief, resisting arrest and obstruction after they were ordered to leave. One arrested was a current Microsoft employee, while three were former employees previously terminated for similar conduct, a Microsoft spokesperson said.
© 2025 The Seattle Times. Visit www.seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
