⚡️ BREAKING: Microsoft employees and other demonstrators with the No Azure for Apartheid movement are currently occupying the office of company president Brad Smith. Workers say they have re-established a “Liberated Zone” inside Microsoft’s executive Building 34, renaming it the Mai Ubeid Building in honor of a Palestinian software engineer killed in an Israeli airstrike.
Bloomberg reported earlier today that Microsoft has spent the past year trying to crush employee dissent over its ties to Israel’s war on Gaza — including enlisting the FBI, working with police, and censoring internal posts mentioning “Gaza.” The company has suspended and fired workers who spoke out, while employees have continued to stage disruptions, from mass emails to sit-ins and viral protests. The employee-led movement is protesting Microsoft profiting from and enabling Israel’s atrocities in Palestine through its Azure cloud and AI tools. Despite repression, workers say they won’t stop until Microsoft cuts its ties to Israel’s military.
According to the organizers’ statement, today’s action included deploying noisemakers into the atrium, unfurling banners, and delivering a “People’s Court Summons” to Brad Smith. Their demands include: cutting ties with Israel, calling for an end to genocide and forced starvation, reparations for Palestinians, and ending workplace discrimination.
Video shows the demonstrators in the Microsoft C-suite reading their statement. Shared on Twitch (link in reply).
