Microsoft fires two employees for breaking into protests at president's office

Microsoft fires two employees for breaking into protests at president's office

Microsoft has fired two employees following a protest at the company's headquarters in Redmond, Washington, where a group of protesters occupied the office of Microsoft President Brad Smith. The incident, which occurred on Tuesday, is part of a series of ongoing protests against Microsoft's ties with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) during the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

The protesters, including current and former Microsoft employees, were demanding that the company sever all ties with Israel and pay reparations to Palestinians. They also alleged that Microsoft's Azure cloud computing platform has been used to facilitate attacks on Palestinian targets [1].

Microsoft confirmed the termination of the two employees involved in the incident. According to the company, the employees were fired for serious breaches of company policies and their code of conduct. One of the employees had previously been arrested on two occasions, and both were involved in Tuesday's break-in [2].

In response to the protests, Microsoft has hired an outside law firm to investigate the allegations. The company has stated that such use of its technology would violate its terms of service [1]. Brad Smith, Microsoft's President, emphasized the company's commitment to upholding human rights principles and ensuring contractual terms are adhered to globally [2].

This incident is part of a broader context of growing scrutiny on big tech companies' involvement with defense agencies, particularly in politically sensitive regions. Microsoft faces the challenge of balancing its business interests, ethical responsibilities, and employee activism in an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape [3].

References:
[1] https://www.npr.org/2025/08/27/nx-s1-5518786/microsoft-protesters-office-israel
[2] https://theoutpost.ai/news-story/microsoft-faces-protests-over-alleged-ties-to-israeli-military-prompting-office-occupation-and-arrests-19555/
[3] https://www.king5.com/article/money/business/microsoft-employees-fired-break-in-executive-offices/281-a4ff1ac1-7a35-470d-ad0c-64b563673a10