Google has fired a total of more than 50 employees following protests at the tech giant's offices over its ties to Israel. The group organizing the protests, No Tech For Apartheid, reported that 30 workers were initially terminated last week after sit-ins at Google's headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif., and its Manhattan office. On Monday night, Google fired "over 20" more staffers, including those who were not actively participating in the protests, according to spokeswoman Jane Chung.

The internal dissent among employees was focused on "Project Nimbus," a $1.2 billion contract signed in 2021 for Google and Amazon to provide cloud computing and artificial intelligence services to the Israeli government. Google stated that the additional firings were a result of an investigation that identified employees who were "physically disrupted" and used masks to hide their identities during the protests.

The company disputed claims made by No Tech For Apartheid, asserting that every employee whose employment was terminated was directly involved in disruptive activity inside the buildings. CEO Sundar Pichai had previously warned employees in a blog post that they would be on a short leash as Google intensifies its efforts to enhance its AI technology.

The protests and subsequent firings come amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East, particularly during the Gaza war, where technology companies' involvement with the Israeli government has sparked controversy. Workers at Google offices in New York and Sunnyvale, California, held sit-in protests that led to arrests by the police. The firing of more than 50 employees has raised concerns about dissent and freedom of expression within the tech giant.