Microsoft’s 50th anniversary, meant to celebrate a half-century of innovation and success, was marred by internal dissent when two employees publicly protested the company’s involvement with the Israeli military. The employees—software engineers Ibtihal Aboussad and Vaniya Agrawal—were both terminated after disrupting company events with emotional pleas against the use of Microsoft’s artificial intelligence technology in military operations.
Public Protests During Company Celebration
The protests unfolded during a key moment for Microsoft, as the company hosted events that featured top executives and former CEOs including Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. Rather than being a day of celebration, however, the spotlight shifted dramatically when Aboussad, an engineer in the company’s AI division based in Canada, stood up during a speech by Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman in Redmond, Washington.
“Mustafa, shame on you,” she declared, walking toward the stage. Her voice echoed through the venue as she accused Microsoft of enabling violence in Gaza. “You claim to care about using AI for good, but Microsoft sells AI weapons to the Israeli military. Fifty thousand people have died, and Microsoft powers this genocide in our region.”
Calling Suleyman a “war profiteer,” she concluded, “You have blood on your hands. All of Microsoft has blood on its hands,” before being escorted out by security.
Fired for Misconduct
The company didn’t take long to respond. On Monday, just days after the protest, Aboussad was fired. According to documents obtained by CNBC, Microsoft cited “wilful misconduct, disobedience or wilful neglect of duty” as grounds for her dismissal.
In an email sent shortly after her protest, Aboussad addressed her message to top Microsoft executives, including CEO Satya Nadella and President Brad Smith. She explained her motivations clearly: “After learning that my org was powering the genocide of my people in Palestine, I saw no other moral choice.”
She added, “I did not sign up to write code that violates human rights,” and linked to a “No Azure for Apartheid” petition—a growing internal movement among tech workers concerned about the ethical implications of AI and military contracts.
Microsoft responded by saying her email confirmed she had deliberately disrupted a major event, and that she had bypassed appropriate internal channels to raise concerns. Her termination notice concluded that her actions were intended to cause “maximum disruption” and that “immediate cessation” of her employment was necessary.
Second Employee Also Removed
The same day, at a separate event, another employee, Vaniya Agrawal, took a similar stand. She interrupted Satya Nadella’s speech, denouncing the company’s role in military operations. Agrawal had already planned to resign effective April 11, but Microsoft made her departure immediate.
In her own email to executives, Agrawal described her growing disillusionment with Microsoft’s involvement in what she described as the “military-industrial complex.”
“For the past year and a half, I’ve become more aware of Microsoft’s complicity,” she wrote. “By working for this company, we are all complicit.”
She called the tech giant a “digital weapons manufacturer” and condemned its role in “surveillance, apartheid, and genocide.”
Microsoft’s Stance on Employee Conduct
Microsoft defended its decision to remove both employees, emphasizing that it supports internal feedback and encourages employees to speak up—within boundaries. A company spokesperson said, “We provide many avenues for all voices to be heard. Importantly, we ask that this be done in a way that does not cause business disruption.”
“If that happens, we ask participants to relocate,” the spokesperson added, suggesting that public disruptions during company events cross the line from free expression into professional misconduct.
A Tense Climate for Tech Ethics
The incident adds to a growing tension in the tech world over the ethical use of AI and corporate contracts with military and defense organizations. Tech workers at several major firms have raised concerns in recent years about how their work is being used—often calling for greater transparency and ethical oversight.
At Microsoft, these concerns have now reached a boiling point, surfacing in the most public of ways. While the company had planned its 50th anniversary as a milestone celebration, the disruption highlighted an unresolved divide between leadership and employees who feel morally conflicted about the impact of their work.
Microsoft’s legacy is built on innovation, but the latest events suggest that the next 50 years will require more than just technological advancement—it will demand deeper conversations about ethics, accountability, and the role of tech in global conflicts.
