According to activists, the total number of layoffs this week exceeded 50 people.
The firings come just days after CEO Sundar Pichai sent a letter to employees condemning the company’s use as a “personal platform” for “destructive debates or political debates.”
“The company is trying to suppress opposition, silence its employees and regain power over them,” said Jane Chang, spokesperson for the No Tech for Apartheid group, which has been protesting the contracts that Google and Amazon have made with the Israeli government since 2021.
The protests at Google were part of a wave of anger over the cooperation of American officials and companies with Israeli officials and military.
The recent arrests of protesters at Yale and Columbia universities over their support for Palestine have led to accusations of crackdown by university officials and inspired a new wave of demonstrations at other institutions across the country.
Before the Google sit-ins, activists blocked highways, bridges and airport entrances across the United States to protest the war in Gaza.
The situation at Google led to a public conflict between management and fired employees. Google claims that each laid-off employee caused disruption to its offices.
Protesters dispute those claims and insist some of those fired were not even at the company’s offices on the day of the coordinated protests.
In his message to employees, Pichai said that openness is the strength of the company, but also explained that this is about labor issues, not politics.
Source: Ferra
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