‘Bomb’ of resignation! Microsoft engineer left job after 13 years – can’t work for such a company

The reason for his resignation is neither low salary nor work-life balance, but a serious moral issue. Glowski unequivocally announced that he could no longer work for a company that is enabling some of the worst atrocities of our time through contracts for cloud services with the Israeli military. This is not just the resignation of one person, but it is a reflection of the deepening conflict between tech companies’ profits and their ethical responsibilities.

Microsoft employee sent mass resignation and left the job

Glosky’s move is the culmination of months of internal turmoil and opposition within Microsoft. The company is under immense pressure due to its Israeli military contracts. As a result, 5 employees have been fired due to the protests, including 4 who occupied CEO Brad Smith’s office in August. Gloski’s protest proves how some employees no longer just want technological innovation, but also want their company to be accountable to ethical and humanitarian values.

Why did a Microsoft engineer leave his job after 13 years of service?

Below you can see details of the main reasons and controversies behind the mass emailed resignation of Principal Software Engineer Scott Sutfin-Glowski:

1. Main reason for resignation: Ethical differences
Israeli military contracts: Glosky explicitly objects to Microsoft continuing its cloud services contracts with the Israeli military.

‘The most terrible atrocities’: He wrote in his resignation letter – I can no longer accept enabling a company that is perhaps promoting the most terrible atrocities of our times.

Personal decision: He decided to leave the company on his own in protest rather than face being fired.

2. Allegations related to intelligence unit
The Guardian report alleged that an intelligence unit was using Microsoft’s Azure platform to track ‘one million calls per hour’ from Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Microsoft stopped providing certain services (cloud storage and AI services) to this unit after the investigation, but critics believe this action was inadequate.

Despite Gliwski’s resignation, protests escalated at the Raymond, Washington headquarters, where demonstrators chanted ‘WE CALL BULLSHIT. Displayed banners like ‘CUT ALL TIES WITH ISRAEL NOW’.