Microsoft has fired two software engineers who publicly protested the company’s contracts with the Israeli military during its 50th anniversary celebrations, citing “wilful misconduct” and disruption of business activities.
The firings come amid growing scrutiny of Big Tech’s role in armed conflicts, particularly over the use of artificial intelligence in warfare.
Ibtihal Aboussad, based in Canada and part of Microsoft’s AI division, interrupted a keynote by Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman in Redmond, Washington, on Friday.
“Mustafa, shame on you,” she said during the livestreamed event. “Microsoft powers this genocide in our region.” She also called Suleyman a “war profiteer” and threw a keffiyeh scarf onstage before being escorted out.
Shortly after, she emailed top Microsoft executives, including Satya Nadella and Brad Smith, saying she could no longer remain silent after learning of her team’s involvement in “powering the genocide of my people in Palestine.”
Microsoft later informed Ibtihal Aboussad that her employment had been terminated immediately. According to internal communications seen by CNBC, the company said she had deliberately disrupted a major event to gain notoriety.
Vaniya Agrawal, a US-based engineer, staged a similar protest at a separate session featuring Satya Nadella. Although she had submitted her resignation for April 11, Microsoft made her departure effective immediately.
Vaniya Agrawal also emailed Microsoft leadership, calling the firm a “digital weapons manufacturer” complicit in “surveillance, apartheid, and genocide.”
The protests came just days after a report revealed Microsoft and OpenAI technologies were used in Israeli military targeting operations in Gaza and Lebanon.
Microsoft has not confirmed the specific allegations but stated, “We provide many avenues for all voices to be heard. However, this must be done without disrupting business.”
In February, five other Microsoft employees were ejected from a staff meeting with Satya Nadella after protesting similar contracts.
Microsoft is the latest tech company facing backlash over its ties to Israel. In 2024, dozens of Google workers were fired following sit-ins against Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion AI deal with the Israeli government.
Rights groups and labour advocates have called the firings at Microsoft retaliation against whistleblowers.
No Azure for Apartheid, the advocacy group supporting the dismissed workers, said the employees were standing up for human rights and should be reinstated.
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