USA: Two Microsoft employees fired after organising a vigil for Palestinians killed in Israel's war on Gaza
"Microsoft workers fired over Gaza vigil say company ‘crumbled under pressure’"
Two Microsoft employees who were fired last week after organizing a vigil for Palestinians killed in Gaza say the company retaliated against them for their pro-Palestinian activism.
...Abdo Mohamed, a researcher and data scientist, and Hossam Nasr, a software engineer, organized the event outside Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, on 24 October. They were fired later that evening.
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Both employees were members of No Azure for Apartheid, a group of Microsoft workers protesting the company’s sale of its cloud computing technology to Israel.
The group demands Microsoft sever all Azure contracts and partnerships with the Israeli military and government, disclose all ties with Israel, call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the conflict in Gaza, and protect and uphold the free speech of employees.
Microsoft denied that the two, who are originally from Egypt, were fired for their activism. “We remain dedicated to maintaining a professional and respectful work environment and provide many avenues for all voices to be heard. But, importantly, we ask that this be done in a way that does not disrupt business operations and be aligned to our company policies and behavior expectations,” a spokesperson said...
But Mohamed and Nasr reject allegations that the vigil was disruptive and claim it was in accordance with Microsoft policies...
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Nasr also alleged a double standard at the company, arguing that he had experienced repeated internal investigations and reprimands for comments about Gaza that he had posted on Microsoft internal employee groups, while posts he flagged internally for racism or personal attacks against him did not result in any disciplinary actions.
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A Microsoft representative declined to comment on the specific examples.
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A spokesperson for Microsoft did not comment on the ‘No Azure for Apartheid’ campaign, its demands, or allegations of bias.
The spokesperson added the company was investigating the allegation that a social media post about the terminations was published by Stop Antisemitism before the employees were informed.
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