Two Microsoft Employees Fired After AI Protest at 50th Anniversary Event
Redmond, WA – April 9, 2025 — Microsoft has terminated two employees who interrupted its high-profile 50th anniversary celebration to protest the company’s involvement in supplying artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to the Israeli military. The action has sparked renewed attention to corporate complicity in global conflicts and the boundaries of workplace activism.
During the celebration held at Microsoft’s Redmond campus, software engineer Ibtihal Aboussad confronted AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman on stage, accusing the company of supporting what she described as genocide in the Middle East. “You claim that you care about using AI for good but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military,” Aboussad shouted, disrupting Suleyman’s presentation, which was being livestreamed globally.
She further accused Microsoft of having “blood on its hands” and threw a keffiyeh scarf onto the stage — a symbol of Palestinian solidarity — before being escorted out by security. The protest caused a temporary halt to the event, which was attended by company luminaries including co-founder Bill Gates and former CEO Steve Ballmer.
A second employee, Vaniya Agrawal, later staged a similar protest during another segment of the event. Though Agrawal had already resigned and was due to leave the company on April 11, Microsoft accelerated her departure, citing her participation in the disruption.
According to the advocacy group No Azure for Apartheid, which has campaigned against Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform being used in Israeli military operations, Aboussad was officially fired Monday during a call with HR. Microsoft’s termination letter accused her of “misconduct designed to gain notoriety and cause maximum disruption,” calling her actions “hostile, unprovoked, and highly inappropriate.”
The protests follow growing scrutiny over U.S. tech companies’ involvement in foreign military operations. Earlier this year, an Associated Press investigation found that AI models from Microsoft and OpenAI had been integrated into Israeli systems for selecting bombing targets in Gaza and Lebanon — including one errant airstrike that killed four Lebanese civilians in 2023.
Microsoft defended its disciplinary action in a statement: “We provide many avenues for all voices to be heard. Importantly, we ask that this be done in a way that does not cause a business disruption.”
This isn’t the first protest Microsoft has faced over the issue. In February, five employees were removed from a meeting with CEO Satya Nadella for similar demonstrations. The company, however, has remained firm in its stance, emphasizing professionalism and workplace decorum.
The events echo a similar controversy at Google, where dozens of employees were fired in 2024 after protesting the $1.2 billion Project Nimbus deal, which also provides AI services to the Israeli government. Those workers have since filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.
As tensions continue over the ethical use of AI in warfare, tech companies like Microsoft and Google are facing increasing pressure — both from within and outside — to answer for their roles in global conflict zones.