## Google Fires 28 Employees Following Protests Over Project Nimbus
Google has fired 28 employees following protests at its New York and Sunnyvale offices related to the company's involvement in Project Nimbus. The protests, which escalated into the occupation of office spaces and other disruptive actions, were linked to discontent over the controversial project.
In a memo to employees, Google's head of global security, Chris Rackow, condemned the actions of the protesters, stating that they "defaced property and obstructed the work of their colleagues." He emphasized that such behavior violates Google's Code of Conduct and other internal policies related to workplace behavior.
The memo also served as a reminder to all Google employees about the expectation to adhere to company policies and the seriousness with which the company views breaches of conduct. Rackow warned, "The overwhelming majority of our employees do the right thing. If you’re one of the few who are tempted to think we’re going to overlook conduct that violates our policies, think again."
This incident highlights the challenges Google faces in balancing employee activism with the need to maintain a professional work environment. It also reflects broader issues related to corporate governance and employee rights within the tech industry.
> You may have seen reports of protests at some of our offices yesterday. Unfortunately, a number of employees brought the event into our buildings in New York and Sunnyvale. They took over office spaces, defaced our property, and physically impeded the work of other Googlers. Their behavior was unacceptable, extremely disruptive, and made coworkers feel threatened. We placed employees involved under investigation and cut their access to our systems. Those who refused to leave were arrested by law enforcement and removed from our offices.
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> Following investigation, today we terminated the employment of twenty-eight employees found to be involved. We will continue to investigate and take action as needed.
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> Behavior like this has no place in our workplace and we will not tolerate it. It clearly violates multiple policies that all employees must adhere to — including our Code of Conduct and Policy on Harassment, Discrimination, Retaliation, Standards of Conduct, and Workplace Concerns.
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> We are a place of business and every Googler is expected to read our policies and apply them to how they conduct themselves and communicate in our workplace. The overwhelming majority of our employees do the right thing. If you’re one of the few who are tempted to think we’re going to overlook conduct that violates our policies, think again. The company takes this extremely seriously, and we will continue to apply our longstanding policies to take action against disruptive behavior — up to and including termination.
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> You should expect to hear more from leaders about standards of behavior and discourse in the workplace.