Fired after 'occupying' Microsoft president's office

Two Microsoft employees joined a group of protesters who occupied the company's headquarters building on August 27.

Microsoft is facing a wave of fierce protests from many employees. Photo: Cath Virginia/The Verge .

Microsoft has fired two employees who participated in protests and occupied President Brad Smith's office.

Software engineers Riki Fameli and Anna Hattle were terminated the following day after they and a group of seven other protesters broke into Mr. Smith’s office in the company’s Building 34 yesterday, forcing Microsoft to temporarily lock down the administration building.

The protesters live-streamed their entry into the office on Twitch, while demanding that Microsoft cut ties with the Israeli government .

Among those arrested later were Fameli, Hattle and former Microsoft employees Vaniya Agrawal, Hossam Nasr, Joe Lopez. A former Google employee and another tech worker were also arrested by police.

Speaking to GeekWire , an unnamed Microsoft spokesperson said the two employees were fired for "serious violations of the company's policies and codes of conduct."

A photo of a protest at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Photo: The Verge/No Azure for Apartheid.

Hours after the incident, Brad Smith held an emergency press conference at his office, where he declared that Microsoft was "committed to ensuring that human rights principles and contractual terms of service are upheld in the Middle East."

Anna Hattle was previously arrested during a similar protest at Microsoft headquarters. The incident occurred last week, when Redmond police arrested 20 people after a group of protesters occupied the square at the headquarters to protest the company's contracts with Israel.

Microsoft declined to comment on the incident.

Source: https://znews.vn/hai-nhan-vien-bi-sa-thai-vi-chiem-van-phong-chu-cich-post1580913.html