Amazon has terminated Ahmed Shahrour, a software engineer in its Whole Foods division in Seattle, following a five-week suspension, CNBC reported. The decision came after Shahrour posted messages on internal Slack channels criticising Amazon’s involvement in Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion cloud computing contract with the Israeli government.
According to a message from Amazon’s human resources team obtained by CNBC, Shahrour was informed, “In the next 24hrs you will receive an email with detailed information about your termination, including information about your benefits and final pay. We appreciate the contributions you’ve made during your time with Amazon and wish you the best in your future endeavors.”
Amazon said its investigation concluded that Shahrour violated company standards of conduct, written communication policies, and acceptable use rules. The company alleged he “misused company resources, including by posting numerous non-work-related messages pertaining to the Israel-Palestine conflict,” CNBC reported.
An Amazon spokesperson, Brad Glasser, told CNBC that the company does not tolerate “discrimination, harassment or threatening behaviour or language of any kind in our workplace.” Glasser added that when such conduct is reported, Amazon investigates and takes “appropriate action based on our findings.”
Shahrour, however, called his firing “a blatant act of retaliation designed to silence dissent from Palestinian voices within Amazon and shield Amazon’s collaboration in the genocide from internal scrutiny,” according to his statement to CNBC. He had urged the company to drop its contract involving artificial intelligence tools, data centres, and other infrastructure provided to the Israeli government.
The termination reflects a broader trend in big tech of firing employees who protest against Israel. Microsoft fired two employees in August who participated in protests inside company offices, while Google terminated 28 employees in April 2024 after Project Nimbus demonstrations. Last week, a Microsoft engineer resigned after 13 years, citing ongoing sales of cloud services to the Israeli military.
Shahrour’s termination coincided with the day Hamas released seven Israeli hostages as part of a ceasefire deal brokered with assistance from former President Donald Trump.
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