Who’s Vaniya Agrawal? Microsoft ex-employee who shamed CEOs at firm’s fiftieth anniversary celebrations
Microsoft’s fiftieth anniversary celebration in Washington on March 4 was interrupted by two workers who protested towards the corporate’s alleged ties with the Israeli army.
Vaniya Agrawal, an Indian-American software program engineer, just lately gained consideration for publicly protesting at Microsoft’s fiftieth anniversary occasion. A member of the corporate’s AI division, Agrawal confronted CEO Satya Nadella and former CEOs Invoice Gates and Steve Ballmer throughout a panel dialogue, alleging that Microsoft’s applied sciences have been contributing to violence in Gaza.
Protest at fiftieth anniversary occasion over Israel contract
Throughout Microsoft’s fiftieth anniversary occasion, whereas present CEO Satya Nadella and former CEOs Steve Ballmer and Invoice Gates have been on stage discussing the corporate, Agrawal stood up and started shouting in protest. “Disgrace on you all. You’re all hypocrites,” she stated.
“50,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been murdered with Microsoft know-how. How dare you. Disgrace on all of you for celebrating of their blood. Minimize ties with Israel,” she added. Agrawal was then escorted out by safety. In response to movies circulating on-line, some workers within the viewers booed her in the course of the incident.
Vaniya Agrawal additionally referenced the group ‘No Azure for Apartheid’, which is reportedly behind organizing protests each inside and outdoors the Microsoft occasion venue. The group has been vocal in opposing Microsoft’s alleged involvement with the Israeli army by way of its cloud companies.
Who’s Vaniya Agrawal?
Vaniya Agrawal, a software program engineer in Microsoft’s synthetic intelligence division. From the identify, it seems that she is an Indian-American. In response to her LinkedIn profile, she joined Microsoft in September 2023. Previous to that, she spent over three years working at Amazon as a Software program Engineer.
Following the protest, Agrawal introduced her resignation from Microsoft, stating that she couldn’t, in good conscience, proceed working for a corporation she believes has contributed to genocide. Her closing day on the firm is scheduled for April 11.
“Hello all, My identify is Vaniya, and after 1.5 years as a software program engineer at this firm, I’ve determined to go away Microsoft. My final day is subsequent Friday, April 11. You will have seen me rise up earlier right now to name out Satya throughout his speech on the Microsoft fiftieth anniversary. Right here’s why I made a decision to go away the corporate, and why I spoke up right now,” Vaniya wrote within the e mail.
(With companies enter)
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