“Choose between professional concerns or go to Mars.” This is what his manager offered a SpaceX employee, after sharing an internal letter denouncing the company’s management practices with colleagues. This same letter led to the dismissal of eight employees, according to the New York Times.
This week, Elon Musk told Twitter employees they had to prepare to work hard or leave the company. Brutal management practices are also denounced by SpaceX employees. Charges filed with federal regulators accuse the company of illegally firing eight employees following the publication of an open letter criticizing Elon Musk’s management practices.
“Elon’s behavior in the public sphere is a frequent source of embarrassment for us,” the letter said. The charges highlight Elon Musk’s firm control of the workplace, perhaps even beyond the restrictions of federal law.
Internal data showed that more than 1,000 people saw the letter in a matter of hours, more than 400 people signed it, many of them anonymously, according to the report. New York Times. “SpaceX is Elon and Elon is SpaceX,” Jon Edwards, SpaceX’s vice president, said during a meeting between the letter’s authors and executives at the company, which has 11,000 employees.
Legal experts explain to the US media that the law gives employees the right to gather for “help or protection”, which includes actions such as writing this letter. The law also encourages SpaceX to enforce its anti-harassment policies more effectively.
According to employees interviewed by the New York Times, SpaceX maintains a work environment “that appears to tolerate sexual harassment and discrimination based on gender.” In December, a former employee published an essay describing multiple instances of harassment and complaining about the lack of follow-up after reporting a case. After the book came out, other employees began reporting new cases.
In May, the media Well-informed person reported that SpaceX paid a company flight attendant $250,000 in 2018 after she accused Elon Musk of offering her sex.
Source: BFM TV
