SEATTLE (AP) – Microsoft fired an employee who interrupted a speech by CEO Satya Nadella, protesting the company’s work supplying Israeli military with the technology used in the war in Gaza.
Software engineer Joe Lopez was able to hear him scream at Nadella at Monday’s opening match of Tech Giant’s annual build developer meeting in Seattle before being escorted from the room. Lopez later sent a ton of emails to colleagues who disputed the company’s claims about how the Azure Cloud Computing platform is being used in Gaza.
The Lopez explosion was the first of several pro-Palestinian turmoil at the event that attracted thousands of software developers to the Seattle Convention Center. At least three talks by executives have been confused, and the company temporarily cuts the audio for one live-streamed event. Protesters also gathered outside the venue.
Microsoft previously fired employees who protested company events at work in Israel, including the 50th anniversary party in April.
Microsoft last week admitted to providing AI services to Israeli forces for the war in Gaza, but said there was no evidence to date that the Azure platform and AI technology is being used to target or harm Gaza people.
No Azure, an apartheid advocacy group led by employees and former employees, says Lopez received a firing letter after Monday’s protest but was unable to open it. The group also says the company has blocked internal emails referring to words like “Palestine” and “Gaza.”
Microsoft has not responded to sending an email with comments about its response to this week’s protest. The four-day meeting will end on Thursday.
Original issue: May 22, 2025, 6:52pm EDT
