Amazon fired Ahmed Shahrour, a software engineer working for the company’s Whole Foods division in Seattle, on Monday following a five-week suspension, according to CNBC. The termination 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.“In the next 24hrs you will receive an email with detailed information about your termination, including information about your benefits and final pay,” an Amazon human resources employee wrote in a message to Shahrour obtained by CNBC. “We appreciate the contributions you’ve made during your time with Amazon and wish you the best in your future endeavors.”Amazon’s investigation found Shahrour violated the company’s standards of conduct, written communication policy and acceptable use policy. The company alleged he “misused company resources, including by posting numerous non-work-related messages pertaining to the Israel-Palestine conflict,” CNBC reported.
Company cites policy violations, employee alleges retaliation
Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser told CNBC the company doesn’t tolerate “discrimination, harassment or threatening behavior or language of any kind in our workplace.” When such conduct is reported, Amazon investigates and takes “appropriate action based on our findings,” Glasser said.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 centers and other infrastructure provided to the Israeli government.
Big tech have been firing employees over Israel protests
The termination of protesting employees has become a trend across big tech. Microsoft fired two employees in August who participated in protests inside company headquarters, while Google terminated 28 employees in April 2024 after protests against Project Nimbus, CNBC reported. Last week, a Microsoft engineer resigned after 13 years, claiming the company continues selling cloud services to the Israeli military.Shahrour’s firing occurred the same day Hamas released seven Israeli hostages as part of a ceasefire deal brokered with help from President Donald Trump.
