Microsoft headquarters go into lockdown after activists take over Brad Smith’s workplace
Protesters stormed Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters on Monday and made it into president Brad Smith’s workplace in Constructing 34, forcing a short lived lockdown. The “No Azure for Apartheid” group reportedly live-streamed their sit-in on Twitch, hoisting banners, chanting ‘Brad Smith, you may’t cover, you’re supporting genocide!’ and posting a mock authorized summons charging Smith with “crimes towards humanity.”
TechCrunch has reached out to Microsoft for extra data.
In accordance with The Verge, the protest included each energetic Microsoft staff and former staff who’ve been fired for earlier activism. Monday’s escalation follows months of protests over Microsoft’s cloud contracts with Israel, together with current arrests at firm headquarters.
A current Guardian investigation revealed Israel makes use of Microsoft’s companies to retailer knowledge from tens of millions of calls every day made by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Financial institution.
Right this moment’s company takeover mirrors techniques from Google staff greater than a yr in the past. In April 2024, 9 Google staff staged coordinated protests throughout New York and California workplaces, with 5 occupying Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian’s workplace for 9 hours. They wrote calls for on his whiteboard and wore “Googler towards genocide” shirts.
The Google protesters focused Venture Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract with Amazon that gives Israel’s authorities and navy with cloud computing and AI instruments. The workers’ sit-ins and arrests had been equally live-streamed on Twitch; three days later, 28 staff concerned in these protests had been fired.
