Microsoft has fired an worker who interrupted a speech by CEO Satya Nadella to protest the corporate’s work supplying the Israeli army with know-how used for the battle in Gaza.
Software program engineer Joe Lopez may very well be heard shouting at Nadella within the opening minutes Monday of the tech big’s annual Construct developer convention in Seattle earlier than getting escorted out of the room. Lopez later despatched a mass e-mail to colleagues disputing the corporate’s claims about how its Azure cloud computing platform is utilized in Gaza.
Lopez’s outburst was the primary of a number of pro-Palestinian disruptions on the occasion that drew hundreds of software program builders to the Seattle Conference Heart. At the least three talks by executives had been disrupted, the corporate even briefly minimize the audio of 1 livestreamed occasion. Protesters additionally gathered exterior the venue.
Microsoft has beforehand fired workers who protested firm occasions over its work in Israel, together with at its fiftieth anniversary occasion in April.
Microsoft acknowledged final week that it offered AI companies to the Israeli army for the battle in Gaza however stated it had discovered no proof thus far that its Azure platform and AI applied sciences had been used to focus on or hurt individuals in Gaza.
The advocacy group No Azure for Apartheid, led by workers and ex-employees, says Lopez acquired a termination letter after his Monday protest however couldn’t open it. The group additionally says the corporate has blocked inside emails that point out phrases together with “Palestine” and “Gaza.”
Microsoft hasn’t returned emailed requests for remark about its response to this week’s protests. The four-day convention ends Thursday.
