Former employees sue Elon Musk's SpaceX for alleged illegal firings

SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk were sued Wednesday by former employees who say they were illegally fired for expressing concerns about gender discrimination and sexual harassment at the rocket company.

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The lawsuit, filed by eight employees who were fired in 2022, alleges that Musk wants to be “the leader of a new, better world of space travel, but is running his company in the Dark Ages — treating women like sex objects to be rated on their bra size, bombarding the workplace with lewd sexual jokes, and offering those who object to the “Animal House” environment the opportunity to seek employment elsewhere if they don't like it “, according to the complaint filed in California state court.

The eight former employees helped write a 2022 open letter criticizing Musk and urging SpaceX executives to make the company's culture more inclusive. The letter, which was signed by at least 400 other employees, asked SpaceX management to clarify that Musk's statements – particularly on Twitter – did not reflect the company's views or values ​​and asserted that the self -called “No A**” from SpaceX The “hole” policy was unevenly applied.

Following the publication of the letter, the eight employees were fired. Wednesday's complaint alleges that “Musk personally ordered Plaintiff's termination.”

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. SpaceX generally does not respond to queries from news organizations. In response to the 2022 letter, SpaceX Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell previously said she would enforce SpaceX's “zero tolerance” standards against employee harassment, but the New York Times reported that she had said the employees were fired for making other staff members “uncomfortable.”

SpaceX has previously faced similar complaints filed with the National Labor Relations Board over the firing of employees involved in the letter. These complaints claimed that the layoffs amounted to terminations of employees for participating in “concerted protected activities.”

A former employee who filed a complaint with the NLRB and is a plaintiff in Wednesday's lawsuit, Tom Moline, previously told CNN that SpaceX management used an “ends justify the means” philosophy to turn a blind eye. about ongoing mistreatment, harassment and abuse. reported by my colleagues, much of which was directly encouraged and inspired by the CEO's words and actions.

Earlier this year, SpaceX responded to a consolidated NLRB complaint with its own lawsuit, alleging that the NLRB structure itself was “unconstitutional.”

Wednesday's complaint details statements by Musk and the actions of other workers that the fired employees say contributed to a hostile work environment and a “pervasive sexist culture” at SpaceX.

The-CNN-Wire

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