Blue Origin, the space company owned by Jeff Bezos, has been accused of sexism by a number of existing and former employees.
Writing in an essay on the whistleblowing platform Lioness, former Blue Origin employee Alexandra Abrams and 20 other current and former employees, said the company “turns a blind eye to sexism, is not sufficiently attuned to safety concerns, and silences those who seek to correct wrongs”.
The staff is mostly male and overwhelmingly white and 100% of the senior technical and program leaders are men, the essay said.
The essay recounted a number of incidents of inappropriate behaviour by senior leaders, including sexual harassment and condescending and demeaning language.
Safety concerns related to flying Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket were consistently shut down and women were demeaned for raising them, according to the essay writers.
They said competing with other billionaires, such as Elon Musk, in the space race “seemed to take precedence over safety concerns that would have slowed down the schedule”.
The employees also questioned Blue Origin’s environment credentials, saying “environmental concerns have never been a priority” at the company.
In an interview with CBS (NYSE:CBS), Abrams said she was fired by Blue Origin in 2019, quoting her manager as saying, “Bob and I can’t trust you anymore,” referring to CEO Bob Smith.
In a statement to tech new website The Verge, a Blue Origin spokesperson said: “Blue Origin has no tolerance for discrimination or harassment of any kind. We provide numerous avenues for employees, including a 24/7 anonymous hotline, and will promptly investigate any new claims of misconduct.”
The spokesperson also said Abrams was fired “after repeated warnings for issues involving federal export control regulations”, a claim Abrams denied to CBS News.