Microsoft fires workers after sit-in at Brad Smith's office

Two Microsoft employees were fired this week after joining a sit-in at the office of the company president to protest Microsofts ties to Israel, and the protest group that organized the demonstration said two more workers were dismissed days later amid ongoing encampments at the companys headquarters in Washington state. The protests and subsequent terminations took place Tuesday and Wednesday at Microsofts main campus in Redmond, company and activist statements show.

Anna Hattle and Riki Fameli, who No Azure for Apartheid said were among seven people arrested after occupying the office of Microsoft President Brad Smith, received voicemail notices informing them of their dismissals, the group said. On Thursday the group added that two additional workers, named as Nisreen Jaradat and Julius Shan, had also been terminated; some reports spell those names differently. Microsoft said the firings followed serious breaches of company policies and created significant safety concerns related to onsite demonstrations.

We are here because Microsoft continues to provide Israel with the tools it needs to commit genocide, Hattle said in a statement released by the protest group, which has...