By Sebastian Herrera

Microsoft has made changes to its internal communication channels and building security measures following a protest in which current and former workers occupied a top executive's office.

The company has shut down an internal communication channel used by employees to question senior executives and discuss hot-button societal issues, according to an internal post reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. It has also restricted employees' ability to enter certain buildings on its Redmond, Wash. campus, according to people familiar with the matter. On Tuesday, the company also told employees they will need to report to an office three days a week.

During the Aug. 26 sit-in, participants entered the office of President Brad Smith and hung banners in protest of the company's cloud-computing contract with the Israeli government. The company fired five employees following the incident.

Days after the protest, Microsoft shut down the channel. Named "Senior Leader Connection," it was open to all employees through Microsoft's Viva Engage communications platform. Posts in the channel alleged that Microsoft's Azure cloud computing contract with Israel is enabling the country to store information and target Palestinians in Gaza, and asked how executives were evaluating the partnership.

Microsoft is now giving priority to town hall meetings with presubmitted questions as the primary way for employees to engage with senior leaders, according to the post, published on Viva Engage. The Senior Leader Connection forum has been replaced by a different channel that doesn't allow rank-and-file employees to post.

The company has said it has "a responsibility and commitment to creating an inclusive and safe digital workplace."

Microsoft is also restricting how employees move around its campus. In a departure from past practice, workers can only access certain buildings, such as those containing top executives' offices, if the building is designated as their primary office, according to the people familiar with the matter.

On Aug. 29, three days after the sit-in at Smith's office, organizers for the group behind it, No Azure for Apartheid, staffed a table at a bridge leading onto campus. Workers for Microsoft placed a barricade in front of i t, separating passersby from organizers . Several company security personnel stood around the barricade, and a drone flew above organizers, according to a video of the incident.

Microsoft has previously restricted employee discourse about the war in Gaza, using internal content moderators to lock or delete comment threads that it says ran afoul of discussion guidelines. The company said it takes action when content violates company policies.

The sit-in capped months of protests by current and former employees. Organizers have disrupted company conferences by shouting during keynote speeches and hung Palestinian flags and banners around campus. Microsoft has reached out to the Federal Bureau of Investigation on at least one occasion seeking information about planned protest activities, although it isn't clear if the agency responded to the request.

Microsoft earlier investigated its contracts with Israel and said it found no evidence that its software was being used to harm people. Following the sit-in, it said it would again look into the matter. It is doing so with the help of Covington & Burling, Smith's former employer and longtime Microsoft legal resource.

Separately, Microsoft on Tuesday told employees they would be required to spend three days a week in the office. Previously, employees were able to work remotely up to 50% of the time, or more with manager approval . The company said the new rule would begin for Seattle-area employees at the end of February before expanding to other locations.

Write to Sebastian Herrera at sebastian.herrera@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 09, 2025 15:50 ET (19:50 GMT)

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