Google has fired more than 50 employees in the past week for participating in protests against the company’s cloud computing deal with the Israeli government, according to activist group No Tech for Apartheid.

The Washington Post reports that the firings come in the wake of sit-ins at Google’s offices in New York City and Sunnyvale, California, on April 16, where employees protested the tech giant’s contract with Israel. Google CEO Sundar Pichai had recently sent out a companywide memo stating that employees should not use the company as a “personal platform” or “fight over disruptive issues or debate politics.”

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, attends a press event to announce Google as the new official partner of the Women’s National Team at Google Berlin. Photo: Christoph Soeder/dpa (Photo by Christoph Soeder/picture alliance via Getty Images)

A Google spokesperson confirmed the additional firings after the company continued its investigation into the protests. No Tech for Apartheid spokesperson Jane Chung accused Google of attempting to “quash dissent, silence its workers and reassert its power over them.”

The protests at Google are part of a larger wave of opposition to U.S. corporations and the government working with Israel. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have been arrested at universities like Yale and Columbia, while activists blocked highways, bridges and airport entrances across the country to protest the ongoing war in Gaza.

Google states that each fired worker actively disrupted its offices, a claim the employees dispute. Some assert they did not even enter the office on the day of the coordinated demonstrations. This firing is unprecedented for Google, which previously had a reputation for a relatively open office culture that encouraged questioning leaders’ decisions.

In his memo, Pichai drew a line, saying Google’s openness applied to work topics, not politics. “We have a culture of vibrant, open discussion that enables us to create amazing products and turn great ideas into action,” he wrote. “But ultimately we are a workplace and our policies and expectations are clear: this is a business.”

Read more at the Washington Post here.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.