Blue Origin is a ‘toxic environment’, say current and former employees

A group of former and current employees accused the company of fostering a “toxic environment.” Written by former employee communications manager Alexandra Abrams and 20 co-authors, the group claims that some senior executives at Blue Origin “are known to be consistently inappropriate with women.”

The trial indicates that an executive was repeatedly reported to human resources for sexual harassment. Another former executive used condescending language towards women and asked inappropriate questions about their personal lives. The group claims the person had a “close personal relationship” with Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos and was only removed from the company after groping a subordinate.

“We found that many business leaders were unreachable and showed clear prejudices against women,” the group wrote. “Concerns about theft New Shepherd were systematically closed and women were humiliated for raising them. let go having been ordered to leave the premises immediately.

“The workforce dedicated to building this ‘for all’ future is predominantly male and predominantly white,” the group said. “100% of senior technical and program managers are men. “

The group details other concerns, such as Blue Origin ignoring safety and environmental concerns. The authors say, for example, that despite the company’s mission to “build a better world,” none of them “saw Blue Origin make concrete plans to become carbon neutral or significantly reduce its large footprint. environmental “.

They say “professional dissent” is being stifled, with CEO Bob Smith asking one of the group members not to allow workers to easily ask questions at company town halls. The authors of the essay say Smith asked for a list of “troublemakers or agitators” within the company so that senior executives could “have a conversation” with those in their divisions.

In addition to that, the essay refers to between Bezos and Richard Branson. “Competing with other billionaires – and ‘making progress for Jeff’ – seemed to take precedence over security concerns that would have slowed the schedule,” the authors said.

The group concluded the essay by saying that Bezos and other Blue Origin executives should be held accountable and learn how to run a respectful and responsible business. “In our experience, Blue Origin’s culture rests on a foundation that ignores the plight of our planet, turns a blind eye to sexism, does not listen enough to security concerns and silences those who seek to right the wrongs, ”they wrote. “This is not the world we should be creating here on Earth and certainly not as our stepping stone to a better one.”

A spokesperson for Blue Origin sent the following statement to Engadget:

Ms Abrams was fired for cause two years ago after repeated warnings over issues involving federal export control regulations. Blue Origin has no tolerance for discrimination or harassment of any kind. We provide numerous opportunities for employees, including an anonymous 24/7 hotline, and will promptly investigate any new malpractice complaints.