Microsoft, the American tech major, has terminated the employment of two members of its workforce who organised a lunch vigil at the company headquarters in Redmond, Washington. They were showing their support towards Palestinians who had suffered in the Gaza Strip.
Hossam Mabed Nasr and Abdo Mohamed, both Egyptians, were terminated over a phone call after the vigil last week. Both Nasr and Mohammed were members of ‘No Azure for Apartheid’, a coalition of workers who raise their voice against Microsoft selling its tech to Israel.
Microsoft is not the only one to fire employees who have expressed their disapproval of support being extended to Israel.
Earlier this year, Google had also fired over 50 Googlers who disapproved of the company providing its tech to the Israeli government amidst the ongoing Gaza war.
The concerned employees reportedly feel that it was Microsoft ‘s failure that it kept them from trying to share the grief of those who suffered in the war; that Microsoft should have actually honoured the memories of those who were no longer alive to raise their voices. The two had organised the vigil to highlight the fact that Microsoft too was party to the genocide of Palestinians as it had provided its technology to the Israeli military.
Meanwhile, Microsoft maintains that the two employees were terminated in accordance with the organisation’s internal policy.
