SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is accused by former employees of illegal dismissals after they denounced gender discrimination and harassment in the astronautics company’s workplace.
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The lawsuit led by these people was announced Wednesday by CNN. Mr. Musk allegedly treats women like “sex objects” because they are “evaluated by the size of their bra,” according to information in the official complaint. He also allegedly “bombarded the workplace with lewd sexual jokes.” The work environment would therefore have been “toxic” and “sexist”, according to them.
In one case, a SpaceX HR director responded to allegations of inappropriate workplace behavior at an internal event by saying, “I have never been a victim of sexual harassment; I must not be sexy enough,” the complaint alleges.
The eight complainants were also involved in writing a 2022 open letter that criticized the CEO. It was reportedly signed by 400 other employees.
After the letter was published, the eight employees were reportedly fired. According to the complaint, “(Elon) Musk himself ordered their dismissal.”
Those who sued the businessman are seeking unspecified damages to account for “loss of wages, income and other employee benefits as well as emotional distress.”
The former employees believe that “SpaceX failed to take steps to address the harassment, hostile work environment and retaliation.”
The company did not respond to CNN’s request for an interview.
