Former SpaceX employees claim they were fired for speaking against Elon Musk, file charges

A media report has surfaced stating that approximately 20 engineers were fired for an open letter criticising CEO Elon Musk. In latest development, the former employees have now filed charges with labor regulators.

Team Newsable

First Published Nov 17, 2022, 5:27 PM IST | Last Updated Nov 17, 2022, 5:27 PM IST

Amidst the Twitter takeover and numerous layoffs, a report has surfaced stating that approximately 20 engineers were fired for an open letter criticising CEO Elon Musk. In latest development, the former employees have now filed charges with labor regulators.

The incident goes back to June, when the engineers were invited to a meeting at the SpaceX corporate office. Elon Musk, the organization's founder and CEO, was the topic of the discussion. The business had earlier terminated five workers who had penned a petition urging SpaceX to denounce Musk's "damaging Twitter conduct."

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Musk had done so by making fun of a news story that said SpaceX had resolved a sexual harassment allegation against him. Many of the engineers arrived at the meeting anticipating an understanding audience since certain managers and executives had made it clear they did not support Musk's actions.

They said that Jon Edwards, the in-charge of the meeting, referred to the letter as an extreme act and stated the authors had been sacked for upsetting the balance of the firm and challenging Musk.

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But they claimed that the meeting's recurrent theme was that Musk could run the business anyway he pleased. The two remembered hearing Edwards say, "SpaceX is Elon and Elon is SpaceX."

Nine employees were ultimately let off as a result of the SpaceX letter, according to the workers and their attorneys. Eight of those employees filed unfair labour practise complaints with the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday, claiming that their terminations were unlawful. The SpaceX case raises additional concerns about the management methods used by Musk's businesses, where there is minimal room for labour organisation or disagreement.

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