Amazon, Google, Nvidia close offices, help stuck workers

Nvidia, Amazon and alphabet It is among the major technology companies that strive to ensure the safety of their employees who travel across the Middle East region or reside there in common. United States and Israel Strikes on Iran During the weekend.

The massive attack on Iran led to the death of the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali KhameneiAmong other things, Iran responded with strikes on Israeli and American bases across the Gulf. The conflict has disrupted civilian life, Internet access in iran, Flight routes and Energy charges Throughout the region.

Chip technology leader Nvidia has temporarily closed its offices in Dubai, with employees there working remotely, according to an email reviewed by CNBC and sent by the CEO. Jensen Huang to all employees early Tuesday.

Huang said in his memo that Nvidia’s crisis management team is “working around the clock and actively supporting affected employees and their families” in the Middle East, including about 6,000 Nvidia employees based in Israel.

In 2019, Nvidia acquired Mellanox, an Israeli company that makes Ethernet switches and other networking hardware, for about $7.13 billion, the largest deal in Nvidia’s history at the time. Today, outside the United States, Israel represents Nvidia’s largest R&D base.

As of Tuesday morning, all Nvidia employees affected by the conflict and their immediate families were safe, Huang said.

“Nvidia has deep roots in the region,” Huang wrote. “Thousands of our colleagues live there, and many around the world have family and friends affected by these events. Like you, I watch with great concern for the safety of our families at Nvidia.”

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Americans should “depart now” from countries across the Middle East using available commercial transportation, citing “serious safety risks.” By Tuesday afternoon, the agency He said It was working to secure military aircraft and charter flights to evacuate Americans from the region amid escalating instability.

Disturbances in air travel left dozens of Google employees stranded in Dubai after a sales conference, according to sources who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

The company’s cloud unit held its “Accelerate” sales kickoff in Dubai last week.

A memo was sent to some cloud employees Sunday morning indicating that it still had team members on the ground, adding that the recent attacks were “concerning,” according to the employees, who requested anonymity in order to talk about internal matters.

The sources said that although most of the employees have left the area, dozens are still stranded there.

After the attack on Iran, airlines were forced Mass cancellations. More than 11,000 flights have been canceled in the Middle East since the US-Israeli strikes over the weekend, according to aviation data company Cirium.

Google said that the majority of affected employees are not US residents but employees in the region. It added that it implements security and safety measures for its employees in the Middle East, and advised employees to follow the instructions of local authorities.

“The situation in the Middle East is evolving rapidly and we are monitoring it carefully,” a Google spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “Our focus is on the safety and well-being of our employees in the region.”

Tel Aviv, a central Israeli city He hits With the hits, it’s also a major hub for Google. The search giant is in the process of expansion To a huge new headquarters in the ToHa2 Tower, which is expected to be one of its largest global locations.

Google did not immediately respond to questions about how operations and employees in Tel Aviv were affected by the Iranian conflict.

Amazon, which has strengthened its presence in the Middle East in recent years, is changing its operations there as part of its response to the expanding conflict in the region.

The company is instructing all its employees in the Middle East to work remotely and “follow local government guidelines.”

“The safety of our employees and partners remains our top priority, and we are working closely with local teams and local authorities to ensure they are supported,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement.

Amazon operates corporate offices in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt, Turkey and Israel. It also operates warehouses and data centers across the region, and “express business outlets” in the UAE Delivery within 15 minutes.

Its sprawling data center became a flashpoint in the conflict on Sunday. Two data centers have been established in the UAE “I hit directly” By drones, while a facility in Bahrain was also damaged by a nearby drone airstrike.

The facilities suffered structural damage, power outages and some water damage after firefighters worked to put out sparks and fires. Sites remain offline, and some Amazon Web Services applications, such as the popular virtual server and database services, continue to experience issues.

AWS encouraged customers to back up their data or consider migrating workloads to other regions.

“Even as we work to restore these facilities, the ongoing conflict in the region means that the broader operating environment in the Middle East remains unpredictable,” AWS said.

Social media company pop It told CNBC that it is asking employees in its four offices in the Middle East to work remotely until further notice.

The company said employees are advised to follow the advice of local authorities regarding shelter-in-place orders and departure recommendations.

— CNBC’s Jonathan Vanian contributed to this report

He watches: Iran has a much larger number of drones than originally expected