Google is firing more employees protesting a deal with the Israeli government

Google has increased the number of fired protesters against a major cloud deal to 50, reports The Register. It is about ongoing protests by some of the company’s employees against Project Nimbus. The project is a joint partnership between Google, AWS and the Israeli government to provide cloud services.

The deal has long been the subject of controversy. No Tech for Apartheid (NTFA), an activist group made up of company employees, claims it also covers service to the Israeli army. The group launched protests demanding that the agreement be terminated, which they say Google is helping the army carry out AI-controlled genocide in Gaza. The concerned employees started walking out of their offices, organizing a peaceful protest in favor of their demand. According to an NTFA representative, Google has fired 28 people since the recent protests. With that, the number of protestors laid off is now 50, they say.

Earlier this week, some of the dismissed employees also gave a telephone press conference on the occasion of the incident. Some of them insist that they were undeservedly retrenched, not being directly related to the NTFA.

Google has repeatedly stated that the deal with the Israeli government serves only civilian needs. Earlier this month, however, Time magazine published a report that refuted the company’s claims. The publication quoted the terms from a copy of a contract they received. According to him, the Israeli Ministry of Defense is also entering into an agreement with Google and AWS. It covers providing the Israeli military with cloud services and access to AI technologies developed by Google. Separate from the Time report, in early April an Israeli publication published a story supporting the NTFA’s claims. According to him, the Israeli Defense Ministry is using AI systems to select its targets to strike in Gaza.

“We have been very clear that Nimbus is an arrangement affecting the use of resources from our platform by Israeli ministries. Departments such as the finance, health, education and transport ministries,” a Google representative told Time. The work is not directed at highly sensitive or classified military workloads related to weapons or intelligence.”

An NTFA spokesman said the group would continue its protests. They are demanding Nimbus be terminated and Google explain its ties to the Israeli military. Additionally, the NTFAs are demanding the reinstatement of all those fired up to this point. The group also wants the company to end Google’s longstanding culture of harassment against Muslim and Palestinian employees.