According to The New York Times, SpaceX has fired employees who took part in authoring and disseminating an open letter denouncing Elon Musk.
The letter, which was first disclosed Thursday, June 16, labeled Musk's social media conduct "a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment" and begged SpaceX to censure him.
SpaceX dismissed some of the letter's organizers, according to three anonymous employees and an email from SpaceX president and COO Gwynne Shotwell, which the NYT viewed.
However, the sources did not reveal the number of employees who were fired.
"Overreaching Activism"
Shotwell wrote in the email that the space company has the employees involved in the letter, claiming that it "made employees feel uncomfortable, intimidated and bullied, and/or angry."
She noted that the letter forced other workers to sign onto something that is against their values.
Engadget reported that Shotwell stated in the email that SpaceX has a lot of "critical work" to accomplish and that there is no room for "overreaching activism."
SpaceX Employees' Open Letter
The employees' open letter alluded to recent allegations of sexual misbehavior against Musk, which apparently resulted in a $250,000 settlement. Musk denied the allegations and struck a joke on Twitter about some of the details. Shotwell supported Musk, stating she that the allegations were incorrect.
Distractions caused by Musk's Twitter use were also discussed in the letter. Musk was recently investigated for alleged insider trading by the Securities and Exchange Commission in February, and a court recently decided that Tesla's lawyers must continue to approve his tweets.
The billionaire has already filed an appeal against the court verdict this week. He also told SpaceX staff before the letter that they are required to work at least 40 hours a week or run the risk of being fired.
Shotwell also stated in her email that sending unsolicited emails to thousands of employees across the company, urging them to sign letters, and participating in unauthorized surveys during working hours is not permissible.
She urged the employees to remain focused and spend their time wisely on SpaceX's goal of traveling to Mars.
OSHA's whistleblower provisions shield employees from retribution, but they only apply to matters like "safety, fraud, environmental issues, and health insurance."
The letter, which was posted on Wednesday, June 15, in an internal SpaceX Microsoft Teams channel with over 2,600 employees, claims that SpaceX is not following its well-publicized zero-tolerance sexual harassment policy and "No Asshole" policy.
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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla
