Former Google Employees Claim Illegal Firings Over Protest Against Israel Contract

Last month, Google announced the termination of about 50 employees who disrupted operations at unspecified office sites while protesting against Project Nimbus

A group of ex-Google employees has lodged a formal complaint with a labour board in the United States, alleging that the technology giant unlawfully terminated their employment due to their participation in protests against Google's cloud contract with the Israeli government regarding the project Nimbus, according to a news agency Reuters report.

The complaint was formally submitted to the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on Monday evening, as per the No Tech For Apartheid, a coalition associated with several affected workers, states the report. The group noted that the complaint asserts Google's termination of the employees constituted an infringement upon their rights under US labour legislation to advocate for improved working conditions.

The workers alleged that the project contributes to Israel's advancement of military technologies. In response, Google has stated that the Nimbus contract "is not directed at highly sensitive, classified, or military workloads relevant to weapons or intelligence services."

In a statement released on Tuesday, Google strongly criticised the behaviour of the terminated employees as "completely unacceptable," asserting that it had created an environment where other employees felt threatened and unsafe. "We carefully confirmed and reconfirmed that every single person whose employment was terminated was directly and definitively involved in disruption inside our buildings," the company reaffirmed.

Zelda Montes, a former Google employee who was arrested during a protest against Project Nimbus, said in a statement that Google terminated employees to stifle organising efforts and send a clear message to its workforce that dissent would not be accepted, reported Reuters.

“Google is attempting to instil fear in employees," Montes added.

In the NLRB complaint, the workers are requesting reinstatement to their positions along with back pay, as well as a commitment from Google to uphold workers' rights to organise. The NLRB's general counsel, functioning as a prosecutor, evaluates complaints and plans to resolve valid claims. Should settlement negotiations prove unsuccessful, the general counsel has the authority to prosecute cases before administrative judges and a five-member board appointed by the US president.

Last month, Google announced the termination of about 50 employees who disrupted operations at unspecified office sites while protesting against Project Nimbus. This project, a $1.2 billion contract allocated jointly to Google and Amazon.com, aims to provide cloud services to the Israeli government.