Fires Criticism, Eight Former SpaceX Employees Sue Elon Musk

SpaceX has been sued by former employees for the dismissal case. (photo: twitter @spacex)

JAKARTA - Eight former SpaceX employees have filed charges for unfair employment practices to the US labor board against the rocket-making company. They sued for being laid off for speaking out against Space X founder and CEO Elon Musk.

Employees said on Thursday, November 17 that they were fired for being part of a group that had compiled and circulated letters to SpaceX executives last June criticizing Musk, the world's richest man, and urging executives to make the company's culture more inclusive. Meanwhile, SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters on the report.

Reuters also reported in June that SpaceX fired at least five employees involved in drafting the letter, calling Musk a "disturbation and shame" for the company.

The allegations filed on Wednesday, November 16 against the US National Labor Relations Council state that SpaceX fired five employees the day after the letter was revealed, and another four months later.

Two employees filed their own lawsuits, while a lawyer filed charges on behalf of six others which were anonymously processed.

The US labor law prohibits employers from firing united workers to advocate for better working conditions. When the NLRB finds that dismissal violates the law, the NLRB can order workers to be re-employed and paid back.

Musk, whose CEO of electric carmaker Tesla Inc, has made headlines over Twitter's acquisition and attempts to redesign the social media company after he warned of a potential bankruptcy.

Musk has also been tried this week on shareholder challenges over Tesla's $56 billion compensation package.

Surat yang dikirim ke eksekutif SpaceX pada Juni lalu fokus pada serangkaian tweet yang dibuat Musk sejak 2020, dan banyak di antaranya menjurus ke arah seksual.

Employees claim Musk's behavior is inconsistent with the company's policies on diversity and workplace violations. They asked SpaceX to publicly condemn Musk's comments and to more clearly define the type of behavior prohibited by the company's policies.