Microsoft software engineer fired for disrupting CEO Satya Nadella’s speech at Build 2025, says Can't open …

Microsoft has terminated the software engineer who interrupted CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote speech at the company’s annual developer conference – Build 2025. Joe Lopez, the fired employee, protested against the company’s partnership with the Israeli military amid the war in Gaza, shouting “Free Palestine”. “How about you show them how Microsoft is killing Palestinians? How about you show them how Israeli war crimes are powered by Azure?” Lopez shouted from the audience before being confronted and dragged out of the Seattle Convention Center by security. “As a Microsoft worker, I refuse to be complicit in this genocide,” he yelled.According to advocacy group, “No Azure for Apartheid," Lopez received a termination letter following the protest, although he was reportedly unable to open the document. Shortly after the protest, Lopez sent a mass email to Microsoft colleagues challenging the company’s statements about the use of its Azure cloud services in Gaza. “Leadership rejects our claims that Azure technology is being used to target or harm civilians in Gaza”, he said.“Those of us who have been paying attention know that this is a bold-faced lie. Every byte of data that is stored on the cloud (much of it likely containing data obtained by illegal mass surveillance) can and will be used as justification to level cities and exterminate Palestinians.”The incident marked the first of multiple pro-Palestinian protests during the four-day conference. At least three executive sessions were disrupted, one livestream had its audio briefly cut, and demonstrators also gathered outside the venue. In one such incident, Vaniya Agrawal – a former software engineer along with another fired Microsoft employee Hossam Nasr shouted at the company’s head of security for AI, Neta Haiby. On May 20, a Palestinian tech worker interrupted Microsoft executive Jay Parikh’s keynote presentation, shouting: “Jay! My people are suffering”. Last week, Microsoft acknowledged supplying AI services to the Israeli military but stated it found no evidence that its Azure cloud or AI tools were used to directly target or harm civilians in Gaza. However, internal dissent continues. The employee-led group claims the company has blocked internal emails containing terms like “Palestine” and “Gaza.”Microsoft has previously dismissed employees who protested its involvement in Israel, including during its 50th anniversary celebration in April.