Amazon has fired a 29-year-old Palestinian engineer who protested against the e-commerce giant’s ties to the Israeli government. Ahmed Shahrour was among a group of seven current and former tech workers who occupied Microsoft President Brad Smith’s office in August this year. According to a Bloomberg report, Ahmed Shahrour worked as a software engineer in Amazon’s Whole Foods business in Seattle. He was suspended last month after he posted a series of messages to corporate Slack chat rooms criticizing Amazon’s connections to Israel. Shahrour subsequently protested and handed out fliers at Amazon’s Seattle headquarters campus.
Why Amazon fired Ahmed Shahrour
An investigation by Amazon found Ahmed Shahrour of violating the company's standards of conduct, written communication policy and acceptable use policy. The company alleged that he “misused company resources, including by posting numerous non-work-related messages pertaining to the Israel-Palestine conflict.”
Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser said in an emailed statement: “We don’t tolerate discrimination, harassment, or threatening behavior or language of any kind in our workplace, and when any conduct of that nature is reported, we investigate it and take appropriate action based on our findings”.
CNBC quotes an Amazon human resources employee who writes in a message: “In the next 24hrs you will receive an email with detailed information about your termination, including information about your benefits and final pay. We appreciate the contributions you’ve made during your time with Amazon and wish you the best in your future endeavors.”
What the fired Amazon employee says
In a note to his colleagues last month, Shahrour said “Amazon is not a neutral observer. We are active participants.” Shahrour told CNBC that his firing is “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.”
In a press release, An employee group associated with Shahrour claimed that he was fired after a five-week suspension “for protesting Amazon’s $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government and military, known as Project Nimbus, which he states constitutes collaboration in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
Why Amazon fired Ahmed Shahrour
An investigation by Amazon found Ahmed Shahrour of violating the company's standards of conduct, written communication policy and acceptable use policy. The company alleged that he “misused company resources, including by posting numerous non-work-related messages pertaining to the Israel-Palestine conflict.”
Amazon spokesperson Brad Glasser said in an emailed statement: “We don’t tolerate discrimination, harassment, or threatening behavior or language of any kind in our workplace, and when any conduct of that nature is reported, we investigate it and take appropriate action based on our findings”.
CNBC quotes an Amazon human resources employee who writes in a message: “In the next 24hrs you will receive an email with detailed information about your termination, including information about your benefits and final pay. We appreciate the contributions you’ve made during your time with Amazon and wish you the best in your future endeavors.”
What the fired Amazon employee says
In a note to his colleagues last month, Shahrour said “Amazon is not a neutral observer. We are active participants.” Shahrour told CNBC that his firing is “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.”
In a press release, An employee group associated with Shahrour claimed that he was fired after a five-week suspension “for protesting Amazon’s $1.2 billion contract with the Israeli government and military, known as Project Nimbus, which he states constitutes collaboration in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
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