Two people familiar with the situation reveal that SpaceX fired at least five workers after it was discovered that they had created and shared a letter criticizing founder Elon Musk and encouraging officials to make the company's culture more inclusive.
According to three individuals with knowledge of the matter, SpaceX dismissed personnel linked to the letter. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell wrote an email indicating the company has investigated and "removed a number of personnel engaged" with the letter.
Employees Letter Reveals Elon Musk's Behavior
Employees are involved in the distribution of the letter were dismissed, according to Shotwell's email, for making other employees feel "uncomfortable, intimidated, and harassed, and/or furious since the letter encouraged them to sign onto something that did not reflect their views."
Per Reuters, the letter was sent in the wake of the billionaire's acrimonious $44 billion purchase of Twitter. Musk had his first video chat with Twitter staff on Thursday to outline his vision for the firm after completing the transaction, which he has expressed qualms about.
During a flight to London in 2016, a flight attendant said Musk offered her a sexual massage. According to the post, the flight attendant allegedly exposed himself to her and promised her a horse. The contents of the incident were not independently confirmed by The New York Times.
Musk responded to the claim by calling it "totally untrue" and making jokes about horses and his genitalia on Twitter. Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's president and chief operating officer, addressed an email to staff last month claiming she "personally" felt Musk's sexual harassment complaints were untrue.
SpaceX Staff Enraged Over Elon Musk's Metting with Twitter Employees
It's unknown how many individuals at SpaceX have signed the open letter. The letter makes many requests, including public condemnation of "Elon Musk's detrimental Twitter conduct" and specific definitions of all sorts of prohibited behavior at the rocket maker.
The sexual misconduct claim did not come up in the investigation, according to a former NASA top official, and NASA leadership was unaware of it. According to The Washington Post, Musk met with Twitter employees for the first time on Thursday, an event that enraged the company's employees once again.
Musk came late for the meeting and dialed in on what seemed to be a cellphone from afar. When the merger is finalized, he voiced a desire to introduce the more harsh workplace settings of Tesla and SpaceX to Twitter. Hotwell has stated several times that the company does not allow discrimination or harassment, and that she personally investigates complaints that workers are urged to submit anonymously.
However, SpaceX has always been a tough workplace, and many employees believe the firm might do more to promote a healthy culture. Before the letter was published this week, a former SpaceX employee told The Washington Post that the company doesn't do enough to prevent improper conduct, which is often driven by Musk's activities.
At least one space industry figure saw an opportunity in the firings of SpaceX employees. A prominent engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Allen Chen, retweeted a news report about the layoffs and included a link to the JPL's job openings page.
@YouTube
