Google’s Aramco Deal Risks Irking Staff Over Oil, Politics
- Deal with Kingdom’s oil giant puts Google in lucrative region
- Saudi crown prince met with Google during 2018 U.S. tour
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Google will start selling its cloud-computing services in Saudi Arabia through a deal with oil producer Aramco, risking a backlash from staff who oppose doing business with the fossil fuel industry or regimes accused of human rights abuses.
The partnership gives Alphabet Inc.’s Google regulatory clearance to set up what it calls a “cloud region” in the Kingdom, the companies said on Monday. Employees at Google have called on the company to abstain from work in the oil and gas industry, citing environmental concerns, and work with authoritarian regimes.