MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Tensions continue to rise between Google and its employees.
The latest development occurred Monday when Google sent an email to all staff members describing its decision to fire four employees for allegedly violating its data-security policies. Google confirmed the contents of the email titled "Securing our data," which was first obtained and reported on by Bloomberg.
The email described some of the actions allegedly taken by the fired employees, including accessing other employees' calendars and sharing information about their whereabouts with outside sources. It was sent out on behalf of Google's Security and Investigations Team.
The company declined to comment beyond confirming the contents of the email.
The news comes as Google employees continue to engage in protests and organized walkouts over issues such as the company's handling of sexual harassment allegations against executives, inadequate action on climate change , pursuit of military contracts , and the potential development of a censored search engine service in China.
On Friday, demonstrators gathered outside Google's headquarters in San Francisco as part of an employee protest, demanding that Google rehire two employees who were put on administrative leave. On Monday, one of the two employees, Rebecca Rivers, tweeted that she had just been informed she was being fired.
"With these firings, Google is ramping up its illegal retaliation against workers engaging in protected organizing,"
according to a statement
from workers organizing against Google. "This is classic union busting dressed up in tech industry jargon, and we won't stand for it."
