Google Fires 28 Employees Involved in Sit-In Protest Against Israel Deal
- Written by Deep Shikha Content Writer
- Fact-Checked by
The firings occurred following the arrest of 9 employees who were part of sit-in protests at Google’s offices in Sunnyvale, California, and New York City. They were detained for several hours and then released, according to other employees.
Some of the employees occupied the office of Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian until law enforcement removed them. Google fired another employee last month for protesting this contract.
In the internal memo published by the Verge, Chris Rackow, the head of global security at Google, said, “If you’re one of the few who are tempted to think we’re going to overlook conduct that violates our policies, think again.” He clearly mentioned that the company strictly enforces its policies against disruptive behavior, which can lead to termination.
Chris Rackow also pointed out that the actions of terminated employees violated several company policies, including those regarding conduct, harassment, discrimination, and workplace standards. “Behavior like this has no place in our workplace, and we will not tolerate it,” he added.
One fired employee who helped organize the sit-in but did not directly participate told the Washington Post , “I’m furious.” The employee expressed disbelief at the company’s decision to fire individuals merely for being associated with an event not favored by the company.
According to the employee, the firings represent a significant escalation and a shift in how Google has previously responded to worker criticisms. The employee also said that members of the No Tech for Apartheid group have consulted with a lawyer about potentially pursuing legal action against Google for alleged violations of labor law.
The “No Tech for Apartheid” group, which organized the protests, described Google’s firings as retaliatory in a Medium post . They mentioned that no Google executive has addressed their concerns despite 3 years of voicing concerns over Project Nimbus. The group emphasized that Google workers should have the right to peacefully protest labor conditions, asserting that the firings were clearly in retaliation.
VPN by Google One is Heading to the Google Cemetery
- Written by Shipra Sanganeria Cybersecurity & Tech Writer
- Fact-Checked by
However, the company soon rolled out the feature across different platforms, including iOS, Windows, and Mac. In March 2023, it included the VPN in the cheapest monthly cloud storage plan of $1.99.
The VPN service was initially marketed as an additional security layer against online threats for Android devices. To bolster confidence in the VPN service, the company not only published a white paper detailing the VPN’s operations but also underwent a third-party audit and made the VPN’s client APIs open-source.
However, after less than four years, Google decided to discontinue the VPN service, citing non-usage as a reason. The VPN service is being shut down as “people simply weren’t using it,” the company told 9to5Google . Google now plans to focus on offering more in-demand features and benefits, including integration of Gemini AI with Google One.
The other VPN offerings via Google Fi, and as a built-in capability on Pixel devices will still be available. Pixel 7 and up users can also access Google VPN services through Pixel settings.
