Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin accused of ‘toxic culture and sloppy safety’
Hyderabad Blue Origin, an aerospace company owned by Jeff Bezos (founder of Amazon), is under allegation from 21 of its current and former employees for its toxic work environment and careless safety stands.
In an essay which was published jointly by 21 current and former employees in the Lioness website on Thursday, paints a vivid picture of Blue Origin's work culture as one marred by sexual harassment, in which professional disagreement is stifled, environmental concerns are left unaddressed and speed of execution takes precedence over human safety.
The sole named author of the essay is Alexandra Abrams, who worked at Blue Origin for two years and six months. She eventually became the head of employee communications during her tenure at the company. "I would say to Jeff that I really wished he was the person we all thought he was, and that Blue Origin was the company we all thought it was going to be," she said in an interview on Thursday.
she added that she was 'shocked', when she was fired but was told by her manager that "Bob and I can't trust you anymore," referring to CEO Bob Smith.
In a response to CNBC's request for comment, Blue Origin vice president of communications Linda Mills said Abrams was 'dismissed for cause' in 2019, "after repeated warnings for issues involving federal export control regulations." Responding to Blue Origin, Abrams told in a statement that she "never received any warnings, verbal or written, from management regarding issues involving federal export control regulations."
In response to the allegations, A spokesperson of the company 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," he adds.
The essay couldn't have been published at a worse time than this for Blue Origin, which is currently mired in a lawsuit against NASA over the agency's awarding of a sole lunar lander contract to SpaceX. The company which submitted its own bid, has been on the offensive ever since, disputing the contract on social media and to a major government accountability office.
