Five Microsoft employees were removed from a company town hall meeting with CEO Satya Nadella after staging a protest against the company’s contracts to provide artificial intelligence and cloud computing services to the Israeli military.
The protest took place on Monday, shortly after an Associated Press (AP) investigation revealed that Microsoft and OpenAI’s AI models were being used in an Israeli military program to select bombing targets in conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. The report also detailed an Israeli airstrike in 2023 that mistakenly hit a vehicle carrying a Lebanese family, killing three young girls and their grandmother.
During the meeting at Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington, employees standing about 15 feet from Nadella revealed T-shirts that, when aligned, spelled out the question: “Does Our Code Kill Kids, Satya?” Despite the protest, Nadella continued his speech without addressing the demonstrators. Security personnel promptly escorted the protesters out of the room.
Microsoft later issued a statement emphasizing its commitment to allowing employees to voice their concerns but stressed the need to avoid disruptions. “We provide many avenues for all voices to be heard,” the statement read. “Importantly, we ask that this be done in a way that does not cause a business disruption. If that happens, we ask participants to relocate. We are committed to ensuring our business practices uphold the highest standards.”
The company did not confirm whether the employees involved in the protest would face disciplinary action. It had also declined to comment on the AP’s Feb. 18 report about its military contracts.
This is not the first time Microsoft employees have faced repercussions for activism related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In October, the company fired two employees for organizing an unsanctioned lunchtime vigil for Palestinian refugees at its headquarters. At the time, Microsoft stated that the dismissals were in line with internal policies but did not provide further details.
Following the AP report, Microsoft employees debated the issue on social media and internal company forums. Screenshots reviewed by the AP showed workers questioning whether Microsoft was violating its own stated principles, which include a commitment to defending human rights and ensuring its AI models are not used to harm people.
Abdo Mohamed, a researcher and data scientist who was fired after the October vigil, accused the company of prioritizing profit over its ethical commitments. “The demands are clear,” Mohamed said. “Satya Nadella and Microsoft executives need to answer to their workers by dropping contracts with the Israeli military.”
A group of Microsoft employees has been raising concerns about the company’s involvement with the Israeli military for months. The internal debate intensified after the AP’s investigation revealed that AI usage through Microsoft’s Azure cloud computing platform for Israeli military operations increased nearly 200 times following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
At the same time, some employees have defended the company’s position, arguing that expressions of support for Palestinians have made them feel unsafe in the workplace.
