Zoom / SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, April 19, 2022
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SpaceX has reportedly fired at least five employees who circulated a letter urging company executives to condemn the public behavior of CEO Elon Musk.
SpaceX President Gwyn Shotwell explained the layoffs in an email to staff, according to an article in the New York Times. “The letters, requests and the general process made employees feel uncomfortable, scared and harassed and / or angry because the letter forced them to sign something that did not reflect their views,” Shotwell wrote, according to the NYT. “We have too much critical work to do and there is no need for this kind of excessive activism.”
Shotwell’s e-mail to staff also said: “Covering thousands of people across the company with recurring spam and asking them to sign letters and fill out unsponsored surveys during the workday is not acceptable. Shotwell urged employees to stay focused on SpaceX’s mission and use their time to do their best. That’s how we get to Mars. “
Reuters reported that the number of fired employees was at least five.
The letter cites an indictment against Musk
The internal letter, prepared by officials, was circulated on SpaceX on Wednesday and revealed in an article by The Verge. The letter said that SpaceX executives “should publicly address and condemn Elon’s harmful behavior on Twitter” and that the company “should quickly and explicitly separate itself from Elon’s personal brand.”
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The letter called for “recent allegations against our CEO and his public disregard for the situation,” a reference to a Business Insider report last month that SpaceX “paid the flight attendant $ 250,000 to settle a sexual misconduct lawsuit against Musk in In 2018, Musk denied the accusation and Shotwell defended it in an email to the entire company.
“Personally, I believe that the accusations are false; “Not because I work for Elon, but because I’ve worked closely with him for 20 years and I’ve never seen or heard anything like that,” Shotwell wrote to staff at the time, according to CNBC.
Musk’s behavior called “source of embarrassment”
The employee’s letter, which led to the dismissals, said that “Elon’s behavior in the public sphere is a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment for us, especially in recent weeks.” The letter accused the company of not applying its policies equally to executives and employees, writing that “SpaceX must establish safe reporting pathways and maintain clear consequences for any unacceptable behavior, whether by a CEO or an employee starting his first day. “.
The letter is the result of the cooperation of “employees from different spectrums of gender, ethnicity, seniority and technical roles”, it said. The letter requested a personal meeting with managers to discuss employees’ requests.
“Our unique position requires us to consider how our actions today will shape the experiences of people outside our planet. The culture we are promoting now, the one we are striving to bring to Mars and beyond? ”The letter asked.
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