Eight former SpaceX engineers have filed a complaint against the space company and its boss, billionaire Elon Musk. They believe they were unfairly dismissed after accusing the company of tolerating sexual harassment and sexism.
According to the four women and four men, American billionaire Musk, who is also CEO of car manufacturer Tesla and social media company complain on social media.
“Sexist culture”
The complaint, which was filed on Wednesday in a court in Los Angeles (California), alleges a “pervasive sexist culture within SpaceX”, which is said to have been created by Musk himself. “Musk purposefully created an undesirable, hostile work environment by introducing vile sexual images, memes and comments into the workplace that demeaned women and/or the LGBTQ+ community,” the complaint states.
“The fact that they were fired for protesting SpaceX’s failure to take basic steps to prevent sexual harassment is an act of retaliation that is subject to a lawsuit,” said Anne Shaver, one of the engineers’ attorneys. The ex-SpaceX engineers have already initiated other proceedings against SpaceX, including with the American Labor Inspectorate (NLRB).
No reaction
SpaceX has not yet responded to the complaint. The company previously said it did nothing wrong and that those involved were fired for violating company rules. And Musk would not have been involved in the layoffs.
At another of Musk’s companies, the electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, accusations of racism and sexual harassment were previously made.