Ex-Googler and Palestinian-American fired for opposing Project Nimbus speaks out: 'This was not my idea of what the American workplace should be'

Just last week, Alphabet’s Google—once known for its open culture—fired 28 workers, nine of which were arrested for engaging in a sit-in to protest a $1.2 billion joint contract with Amazon for the Israeli government. Known as “Project Nimbus,” the deal to provide AI and cloud services to Israel has become increasingly polarizing as its aggression in Gaza has escalated to what one UN expert denounced as genocide.

Since then, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has held fast in his steering Google into a different and perhaps less collaborative track. Pichai penned a blog post on April 18 wherein he warned staff not to “use the company as a personal platform, or to fight over disruptive issues or debate politics.”  

Several fired Google employees spoke at a press conference Monday about their experiences. Ex-employees shared their feelings of dejection over this directive to work on a project that they did not believe to be ethical, and expressed they’d keep fighting until Project Nimbus is stopped. One such former employee, who remained anonymous to protect his identity while looking for new jobs, opened up about how this changed his views of what America actually values as a nation. As a Palestinian-American with family in Gaza, Oreo (an anonymous name), explains how the shakedown and his subsequent firing changed his idea of inclusivity in the workplace. 

“I’ve just come to learn that our opinions at the workplace can come back and hurt us, despite the mantras that we hear like, ‘Bring your whole self to work,’ and ‘Company X or Company Y values debate and diversity,’” he said.

Oreo claimed he never participated in the sit-ins that were at issue in the firings. He said he briefly went into the building to meet the protestors and take a group photo and he “left shortly after and never went back to the building.” Oreo added that he never had an issue with security. He was “chanting peacefully” and holding a sign by a bush that was not near the walkways or offices where the actual protests took place, he said. Even so, Oreo described receiving an automated email indicating his termination without any questions or avenue to explain his case.

“I’m not naive,” said Oreo, noting he’s aware businesses need to be productive and show value to shareholders over their workforce at times. That’s why he was so careful, he added, explaining he doesn’t feel entitled to more than being treated “fairly and within the bounds of the law.”“It was totally okay if Google did not listen to me, or take action. I wish they did, but I didn’t expect them to. But to fire me for having a dissenting opinion was not my idea of what the American workplace should be, let alone what the company of ‘Do no evil’ should be,” Oreo said, referring to the company’s former motto.

A new statement from the organizer of protests, No Tech for Apartheid, claims an additional 20 Google employees have been fired, which brings the total of Google workers that have been let go to around 50. Google did not respond to specific inquiries about these additional firings.

“Every single one of the 28 people whose employment was terminated was personally and definitively involved in disruptive activity inside our buildings,” a Google spokesperson said, claiming to double check each firing during an investigation that depended on live-streamings and employee complaints.  

Google referred Fortune to its previous statements, claiming “the protests were part of a longstanding campaign by a group of organizations and people who largely don’t work at Google,” and that the participants disrupted other employees’ work. The company also claims the Nimbus project isn’t “directed at highly sensitive, classified, or military workloads relevant to weapons or intelligence services.” No Tech for Apartheid has refuted these statements. 

Nevertheless, the rug was seemingly pulled out from some employees. Oreo describes feeling as if Google led him to believe it was a company that had a culture of open dialogue. “I guess I was encouraged to express my opinion at Google, after seeing many executives at Google, including Sundar himself, passionately express their opinion and emotions at work on October 7,” he said. “As they should, because peaceful expression of opinion is at the essence of what America stands for, and what Google promised it would stand for.” 

Oreo expressed this perceived openness led him to feel safer about speaking out and says he “followed their lead,” adding he hopes this is an exception to what he and his fellow Americans should expect from the company. He also explained how the firings at Google affected not just his employment status, but his idea of America as a nation. 

“This incident hit me harder than most,” he said, explaining that as a Middle-Eastern immigrant, he  “always aspired, even as a child, to escape the tyranny and the one-man shows of the Middle East and to start a life in the United States, the ultimate haven for those who want to work hard and seek freedom and equality.”

“But I was in for a reality check,” he says.