Google Employees Stage Sit-In Protests Over $1.2 Billion Contract with Israeli Government

Dozens of Google employees have occupied company offices in New York City and Sunnyvale, California, to protest Google's $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government and military, known as Project Nimbus. The sit-ins, organized by the activist group No Tech for Apartheid, are taking place at the office of Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian and the 10th floor commons of Google's New York office.

The protesters, wearing shirts that say "Drop Project Nimbus" and hanging a banner reading "No tech for genocide," are demanding that Google and Amazon drop the cloud computing contract. They also want an end to the alleged "harassment, intimidation, bullying, silencing, and censorship" of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim Google workers who have raised concerns about the company's work in Israel amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Google responded to the protests by ordering the arrest of nine workers who participated. The company also fired a worker who had previously objected to a speech by a Google executive in Israel. The detained employees were put on administrative leave and had their access to company systems revoked. Google stated that physically impeding other employees' work is a violation of company policies.

The protests at Google offices are part of a broader movement among tech workers against their employers' involvement in Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion cloud computing project for the Israeli government and military. The demonstrations have escalated in the wake of Israel's recent bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which has resulted in the deaths of over 34,000 Palestinians according to Gaza health officials .

The sit-ins follow previous protests and resignations by Google employees over the company's ties to the Israeli military through Project Nimbus. In an open letter, the group No Tech for Apartheid has gathered over 93,000 signatures demanding that Google and Amazon cancel the contract . The protesters argue that the technology they develop could be used by Israel in what they describe as an "AI-powered genocide" against Palestinians.

Key Takeaways

• Google employees protest $1.2B contract with Israeli govt/military
• Protesters demand Google drop "Project Nimbus" cloud computing deal
• Google responds by ordering arrest of 9 protesting workers
• Protests part of broader tech worker movement against Israel ties
• Protesters argue tech could enable "AI-powered genocide" of Palestinians