CHICAGO: More than 2,000 Microsoft employees have accused the US company in a signed petition of supporting Israel’s genocide in Gaza using technology it produces, and are demanding that it cut ties with the country’s military.
Microsoft has fired employees who have openly criticized it for providing the Israel Defense Forces and its infamous Unit 8200 with artificial intelligence technology that helps target Palestinians using data on the company’s Azure cloud storage system.
At a press conference attended by Arab News, the fired employees accused Microsoft of “complicity” in the genocide that has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians, including thousands of women and children.
They said they have organized “non-violent” protests at the company’s Redmond, Washington headquarters, including a sit-in on Tuesday at the offices of Microsoft President Brad Smith.
“I was fired the next day through a voicemail from Microsoft,” said Riki Fameli, a Microsoft software engineer who participated in the sit-in dubbed “No Azure for Apartheid.”
