SpaceX fires back

Private spacecraft engineering company SpaceX, run by Elon Musk, fired employees on Thursday who took part in disseminating a letter that criticized its founder and CEO.

Employees told The New York Times that those behind the letter, which they posted in a company messaging channel and circulated online on Wednesday, were investigated and asked to leave SpaceX.

“The letter, solicitations and general process made employees feel uncomfortable, intimidated and bullied, and/or angry because the letter pressured them to sign onto something that did not reflect their views,” the company’s president and COO, Gwynne Shotwell, wrote in an email to employees obtained by the Times.

“We have too much critical work to accomplish and no need for this kind of overreaching activism.”