Microsoft fires employee protestor who called AI boss a ‘war profiteer’

Microsoft has fired 1 of the employees who disrupted the company’s 50th-anniversary event. In an email seen by The Verge, Microsoft told Ibtihal Aboussad that their employment has been terminated owed to “acts of misconduct.”

Aboussad was 1 of 2 protesters that interrupted Microsoft’s 50th day event connected Friday by calling Microsoft’s AI CEO, Mustafa Suleyman, a “war profiteer” and demanding that Microsoft “stop utilizing AI for genocide successful our region.” A 2nd protester, Vaniya Agrawal, interrupted Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, erstwhile CEO Steve Ballmer, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella aboriginal connected successful the event. Both Microsoft employees besides sent abstracted emails to thousands of coworkers, calling connected Microsoft to chopped its contracts with the Israeli government.

“Earlier today, you interrupted a code by Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman during the Company’s 50th day lawsuit successful Redmond, Seattle, by yelling and finger-pointing astatine the CEO earlier a unrecorded assemblage of thousands of attendees, and making hostile, unprovoked, and highly inappropriate accusations against the CEO, the Company and Microsoft generally,” the email to Ibtihal Aboussad says. “While the CEO remained calm and attempted to de-escalate the matter, your behaviour was truthful assertive that you had to beryllium escorted retired of the country by security.”

Aboussad was fired contiguous by Microsoft Canada, portion Agrawal was dismissed soon aft putting successful her 2 weeks’ announcement earlier the Friday protest, according to an email seen by The Verge. Both protestors are associated with No Azure for Apartheid, a radical of Microsoft employees rallying against the company’s contracts with Israel.

“The institution has concluded that your misconduct was designed to summation notoriety and origin maximum disruption to this highly anticipated event,” the email to Aboussad reads. “It is besides concerning that you person not apologized to the company, and successful information you person shown nary remorse for the effect that your actions person had and volition have.”

We’ve reached retired to Microsoft to remark connected the dismissals, but the institution didn’t respond successful clip for publication.

Correction, April 7th: A erstwhile mentation of the nonfiction stated Agrawal was dismissed instantly aft submitting her resignation. Agrawal submitted her resignation earlier the protests and was past dismissed early.