JAKARTA – It took less than a day and a half for more than 400 SpaceX employees to sign an open letter criticizing SpaceX CEO Elon Musk after it was posted and shared by some of their coworkers in an internal chat.
Just 32 hours after it was shared, the internal landing page for the document went offline, around the same time that a group of employees were fired for their involvement in compiling and distributing the letter. This is a move that may constitute a violation of labor laws.
The open letter first went live on an internal landing page at midday US Eastern time, and was then shared by several employees to approximately 10 chat rooms in Microsoft Teams as well as an email list.
The content is bold: employees assert that Musk's behavior in recent weeks has been a source of embarrassment and annoyance for the company.
The letter's authors offered advice on ways SpaceX could distance itself from Musk's presence on Twitter and do better to hold executives and those who sexually harassed them accountable.
One employee who helped compose the letter, but wished to remain anonymous, claims that "a large number of employees across a broad range of demographics and roles and levels helped write the letter." Employees are given the option to sign documents by taking a survey or scanning a QR code.
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The largest Teams channel where documents are shared has about 2,600 members, mostly filled by technicians, while the rest of the Teams channel is relatively small. The authors also have plans to distribute stacks of physical copies of the letter, which also has a QR code for people to scan, around food production and service areas.
There were also concerns that posting a copy of the letter would be seen as union organizing and the cameras in the SpaceX building would reveal who distributed it.
Before the landing page closed, the authors saw that they were getting around 3,000 unique visitors to their site.
While the document eventually got 404 signatures, more people reached out to those who shared the letter on Signal, in person, and through Teams, saying they would sign if they could afford to be fired at this time, according to the people involved.
In 2017, another of Musk's companies, Tesla, fired an employee for distributing a pamphlet encouraging employees to unionize. Additionally, in May of this year, Musk also tweeted that Tesla would set up a "hardline litigation department" to "directly initiate and execute lawsuits."
Their fears turned out to be believable, as SpaceX management ended up firing at least five employees for their involvement with the letter. SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell later emailed the company, denouncing the document and notifying the company of the termination.
“We have way too much important work to get done and there is no need for this kind of excessive activism — our current leadership team is more dedicated to ensuring we have a great and continuously improving work environment than I have ever seen in my 35-year career,” wrote Shotwell, as quoted by The Verge.
He claimed that it was the issue of the letter, not Musk's behavior, that was a source of distraction for SpaceX, which has a busy schedule in the days and weeks ahead.
Shotwell also argued in his email that other employees not involved in the letter felt uncomfortable, intimidated, and pressured to sign the document. However, two of those involved in its writing, who spoke on condition of anonymity, dispute the claim.
They said they just posted the letter to the Teams channel, directing people to it and asking for support.
"No pressure was applied to anyone to collect signatures," said an employee who helped write the letter, who also wished to remain anonymous. "The open letter stands alone or not."
News of the employee layoffs has spread throughout the company, and several current employees have expressed to The Verge their disappointment at the actions the company is taking.
"I feel like, moving forward, people who don't 100% agree with Elon should either shut up or leave the company, which is very sad," a SpaceX employee, who was not involved in the letter, told The Verge.
"We all admired his intelligence but his social behavior was unacceptable, and we find ourselves in a position where we are both proud and ashamed to work for SpaceX," he added.
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