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Microsoft terminated two employees Thursday following what the company called "serious breaches" of policies after they participated in a break-in at President Brad Smith's office during protests over the tech giant's business ties with Israel.
Software engineers Riki Fameli and Anna Hattle were dismissed after being part of a group of seven protesters who entered Smith's office on Tuesday at the company's Redmond headquarters, according to the activist group No Azure for Apartheid, which organized the demonstration.
"Two employees were terminated today following serious breaches of company policies and our code of conduct," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC.
The company characterized the incidents as "unlawful break-ins" at executive offices that violated workplace expectations.
The demonstration on Tuesday saw protesters gather inside Smith's office in Building 34, where they chanted slogans and displayed banners demanding that Microsoft cut ties with Israel amid the Gaza conflict. One sign renamed the office the "Mai Ubeid Building," honoring a Palestinian software engineer from Gaza killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2023.
Police arrested seven people who entered Smith's office, including current and former Microsoft employees, as well as a former Google employee and another tech worker, according to reports.
The protest was livestreamed on Twitch, showing activists entering the executive office before Microsoft temporarily locked down the building.
The activist group has conducted increasingly bold demonstrations in recent months:
Former Microsoft employees Abdo Mohamed and Hossam Nasr, who were fired for disrupting colleagues with "bullhorns and speakers," have been key organizers recruiting current employees, tech workers, and community members.
Hours after the arrests, Smith held an emergency press conference from his office, seated on the edge of his desk, addressing reporters and viewers via YouTube livestream.
"Microsoft is committed to ensuring its human rights principles and contractual terms of service are upheld in the Middle East," Smith said. He noted the company launched an investigation earlier this month following reports in The Guardian that Microsoft's Azure cloud platform was allegedly being used for surveillance of Palestinians.
Microsoft said in May it found no evidence through internal and external reviews that the Israeli military had used its Azure and AI technology to harm Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
The firings represent the latest escalation in what Bloomberg described as a "small but persistent revolt" by Microsoft employees over the past year regarding the company's business relationships with Israel.
No Azure for Apartheid, named after Microsoft's flagship cloud service, began as a petition demanding Microsoft end all Azure contracts with the Israeli military and government, disclose all ties, call for a ceasefire in Gaza, and protect pro-Palestinian speech.
Hattle had previously been arrested during protests at Microsoft's headquarters last week, where Redmond police arrested 20 people after protesters established a "Liberated Zone" encampment and poured red paint over a Microsoft sign on campus.
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The protests follow reports that Israel's Unit 8200 used Microsoft Azure to store Palestinian phone call recordings. The Associated Press earlier revealed Microsoft's partnership with Israel's Defense Ministry to process intelligence for target selection.
According to reports, Israel has killed nearly 63,000 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023, with the military campaign devastating the enclave and creating famine conditions.
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