Two Microsoft employees have been dismissed after they unlawfully entered the office of the company’s president, Brad Smith, during a protest at the firm’s headquarters in Redmond, Washington.
The protest, organised by No Azure for Apartheid, a group of current and former Microsoft staff and supporters, opposed the company’s alleged involvement with the Israeli military amid its actions in Gaza.
The two employees, Riki Fameli and Anna Hattle, participated in the sit-in, which involved forcibly entering Smith’s executive office and live streaming the event. The group called for Microsoft to cut all ties with Israel.
According to the protest group, the employees were notified of their termination via voicemail after their corporate accounts were disabled, without specific policies cited for the dismissal.
Microsoft described the incident as a serious breach of company policy and stated: “Two employees were terminated today following serious breaches of company policies and our code of conduct.” The company is cooperating fully with law enforcement and emphasised that such conduct does not align with company standards.
Following the protest, Brad Smith revealed that the demonstrators had placed concealed mobile phones around the office as listening devices. The protest marked another escalation after recent campus demonstrations, some resulting in arrests and prior terminations.
No Azure for Apartheid has staged protests at multiple Microsoft events this year, accusing the company of complicity in Israeli military actions, which they describe as apartheid and genocide.
Earlier this month, The Guardian reported that the Israeli military used Microsoft’s Azure cloud to store recordings of Palestinians’ phone calls, prompting Microsoft to launch an independent investigation.
This follows similar unrest at Google last year, where 28 employees were fired after protests against contracts with the Israeli government. Microsoft now faces scrutiny balancing employee activism, corporate security, and ethical responsibilities amid increasing pressure over technology’s role in geopolitical conflicts.