Employees Call Jeff Bezos Space Company Blue Origin A "Toxic" Workspace

(RTTNews) - Employees, both current and former, of Blue Origin, the space company founded by Jeff Bezos, have said that it is "toxic workplace". All these allegations were made in an essay posted on Thursday.

Led by former head of employee communications at Blue Origin, Alexandra Abrams, the essay said that the company made its employees sign strict nondisclosure agreements, discourages internal feedback, had no concern for employee safety and created a sexist environment for women.

The essay was made public on the Lioness website on Thursday. It was signed by Abrams and was endorsed by 20 other current and former employees whose names were not disclosed.

The essay went on to say that "workforce gender gaps are common in the space industry" but stated that "at Blue Origin they also manifest in a particular brand of sexism."

It gave two examples from senior leadership of toxic discrimination. It alleged that a "senior executive in CEO Bob Smith's loyal inner circle" was repeatedly reported to the company's human resources team about sexual harassment claims. Despite all the claims, the executive was appointed a member of Blue Origin's hiring committee.

In the second example, a former executive was calling women employees demeaning names like 'baby girl,' 'baby doll,' or 'sweetheart' and inquiring about their dating lives. The essay claims the company would warn new female hires to stay away from the executive, who allegedly had a "close personal relationship with Bezos." "It took him physically groping a female subordinate for him to finally be let go," the essay says.

Commenting on the allegations, Blue Origin vice president of communications Linda Mills told CNBC that "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."

Mills also said that the main complainant in the case, Abrams had been "dismissed for cause" in 2019 "after repeated warnings for issues involving federal export control regulations."