In the second major disruption of today’s 50th anniversary event at Microsoft’s headquarters, another employee stood up and began yelling at Satya Nadella, Steve Ballmer, and Bill Gates — the company’s current and past CEOs — in protest of Microsoft’s dealings with the government of Israel.
“Shame on you all. You’re all hypocrites,” she said as some in the crowd began to boo. “50,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been murdered with Microsoft technology. How dare you. Shame on all of you for celebrating on their blood. Cut ties with Israel.” The protestor then mentioned No Azure for Apartheid, the group that coordinated today’s protests both inside and outside the venue. It’s been a long-running movement among some employees at the company.
Gates chuckled and said “alright,” before returning to the discussion. “I think Steve and I almost cared too much, and our life was the company, and Satya has this ability to care as much as we did, but with more of a team,” he said.
Microsoft used its 50th anniversary celebration as a showcase for the company’s latest Copilot / AI advancements, but the interruptions definitely shifted the tone at times. Earlier at the event, another employee named Ibtihal Aboussad called Microsoft’s AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman “a war profiteer.” A larger rally led by the protest group was occurring outside while Microsoft executives were speaking.
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