Microsoft Fires 2 Employees Over On-Stage Protest During 50th Anniversary Event

The employees interrupted speeches by senior Microsoft leaders to protest the company’s business ties with the Israeli government amid the Gaza conflict.

Redmond, WA | April 8, 2025:
Microsoft has dismissed two employees after they disrupted the tech giant’s 50th anniversary celebrations last Friday with a live protest against the company’s business ties with the Israeli military.

Ibtihal Aboussad, a software engineer, interrupted a speech by Microsoft’s Consumer AI Chief Mustafa Suleyman, shouting, “Mustafa, shame on you… Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military. Fifty thousand people have died.” Suleyman responded calmly, saying, “Thank you for your protest. I hear you.”

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Later in the same event, Vaniya Agrawal, another software engineer, disrupted a Q&A session featuring Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and his predecessors Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer.

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The protests occurred during an event held in a tent at Microsoft’s Redmond, Washington headquarters, set up as part of the company’s anniversary celebrations. Event staff asked both employees to leave the premises.

According to an internal email obtained by Bloomberg, Microsoft cited “acts of misconduct” as the reason for Aboussad’s termination. Agrawal had earlier announced her intention to resign by April 11, but the company accelerated her exit and made her departure effective immediately.

Both employees were part of No Azure for Apartheid, an internal advocacy group opposing Microsoft’s contracts with the Israeli government amid the ongoing war in Gaza. The group has been campaigning against the use of Microsoft’s Azure cloud services and AI tools by the Israeli military.

Following the protest, both individuals lost access to their corporate emails and internal communication tools.

Microsoft has yet to issue an official public statement regarding the incident.

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Microsoft, employee protest, Mustafa Suleyman, Satya Nadella, Microsoft anniversary, Israel Gaza conflict, Microsoft AI contracts, employee activism, tech workers protest, No Azure for Apartheid, Bill Gates, Microsoft 50 years