[ad_1]
- A group of mostly anonymous employees accused Blue Origin of sacrificing security.
- All 21 current and former workers also said Jeff Bezos fosters a toxic and sexist work culture.
- Blue Origin said it would investigate the harassment allegations, but did not comment on the safety concerns.
A group of current and former Blue Origin employees accused Jeff Bezos and the company of sacrificing security in an effort to win the space race against other billionaires and create a company culture full of sexism .
“Competition with other billionaires – and ‘making progress for Jeff’ – seemed to take precedence over security concerns that would have slowed the schedule,” Alexandra Abrams, former employee communications manager at Blue Origin, wrote to the alongside 20 current and former anonymous. Blue Origin employees.
In the trial, workers accused Blue Origin and its founder, Bezos, of fostering a culture of toxicity and sexism. Employees said their concerns about the safety of several of Blue Origin’s rockets were quashed as the billionaire rushed to compete with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson.
Many of the employees included in the trial said they would not feel safe while flying in a Blue Origin vehicle because they believed the company had not followed the proper safety measures and tested the limits of its employees during a race.
Abrams told CBS in an interview that in 2018, a team documented more than 1,000 safety issues with the rockets that power Blue Origin’s missions. She said when she cited employee concerns about safety to management, she was told the person did not have a “high enough tolerance for risk.” Abrams’ employment ended in 2018. She said she was told executives thought they could no longer trust her.
Abrams also detailed numerous reports of sexual harassment which she says have been ignored by management.
In the trial, employees said many executives were accused of humiliating Blue Origin employees. The essay found that a man close to Bezos and CEO Bob Smith had been promoted despite allegations of sexual harassment. The same executive was later removed from his post after being accused of fiddling with a coworker, according to Abrams.
The essay accused another anonymous executive of often referring to women with derogatory words like “little girl” and “baby doll.” The trial indicates that employees often warn one another to avoid these executives.
A representative for Blue Origin did not address the safety concerns, but told Insider the company does not tolerate harassment and will investigate the allegations. The company also said Abrams was fired after repeated warnings about federal export control regulations, although Abrams told CBS she never received the warnings.
Abrams and the other employees said that while workers were excited about Bezos’ mission to explore space, they were quickly disappointed with the company’s work culture.
“Many of us have spent our careers dreaming of helping launch a crewed rocket into space and seeing it land safely on Earth,” the test says. “But when Jeff Bezos flew to space in July, we didn’t share his elation. Instead, many of us watched with an overwhelming sense of unease. Some of us didn’t. couldn’t bear to watch at all. “
“If the culture and work environment of this company is a model for the future envisioned by Jeff Bezos, we are heading in a direction that reflects the worst of the world we live in now, and absolutely must change,” adds the test.
Blue Origin launched its first human mission in July, which flew Bezos and three others to the edge of space. The space company plans to launch another mission on October 12.
Abrams told CBS she had high hopes for Blue Origin and its mission, but felt the corporate culture ultimately inhibited Bezos’ “utopian dream.”
“You can’t create a culture of safety and a culture of fear at the same time,” Abrams said. “They are incompatible.”
Do you work at Blue Origin? Contact the reporter from a non-professional email at [email protected]
[ad_2]
Source link