Big Tech Scrambles to Protect Staff as Middle East Conflict Disrupts Operations

Technology giants are rushing to safeguard employees and adjust operations across the Middle East after the latest escalation in the U.S.-Iran conflict disrupted travel, internet access and infrastructure throughout the region.

Several companies have temporarily shut offices or moved workers to remote operations following the strikes on Iran and subsequent retaliation across the Gulf.

Chipmaker Nvidia closed its Dubai office temporarily, instructing employees to work remotely while the company monitors the situation. CEO Jensen Huang told staff in an internal memo that the company’s crisis management team has been working around the clock to support affected employees and their families.

Nvidia maintains a significant presence in the region, particularly in Israel, where it employs about 6,000 people. The country is the company’s largest research and development hub outside the United States, following Nvidia’s $7.13 billion acquisition of Mellanox in 2019. According to Huang, all employees and their families impacted by the conflict were confirmed safe as of Tuesday morning.

The U.S. State Department has urged American citizens to “depart now” from several Middle Eastern countries, citing serious security risks. Officials have begun arranging military aircraft and charter flights to evacuate Americans as instability spreads.

The conflict has also stranded dozens of employees from Google in Dubai after the company hosted a cloud sales conference there last week. Most staff managed to leave the region, but flight cancellations have prevented some from departing. Aviation data firm Cirium estimates that more than 11,000 flights across the Middle East have been canceled since the strikes began.

Google said it continues to monitor the rapidly evolving situation and has implemented security measures to protect employees in the region. Dubai serves as a key hub for Google’s cloud and sales operations across the Middle East and North Africa, while Tel Aviv remains another major center for the company.

Meanwhile, Amazon has instructed corporate employees across the Middle East to work remotely and follow guidance from local authorities. The company maintains offices in several countries including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain and Israel, alongside warehouses and data centers that support its regional operations.

The conflict has already affected Amazon’s infrastructure. Two of the company’s data centers in the UAE were reportedly struck by drones, while a facility in Bahrain suffered damage from a nearby strike. The incidents caused structural damage, power disruptions and water-related issues after emergency crews extinguished fires at the sites. Some Amazon Web Services applications have experienced outages as a result, prompting AWS to advise customers to back up data or move workloads to other regions.

Other tech firms are taking similar precautions. Social media company Snap has asked employees at its four Middle Eastern offices to work remotely until further notice and follow local government safety guidance.

With the conflict continuing to escalate and travel routes disrupted, companies say the safety of employees remains their top priority as they navigate an increasingly unpredictable operating environment across the region.