A 62-year-old engineer said that his colleagues at SpaceX neglected him out of concern that he would pass away or retire.
In an essay posted on the whistleblower website Lioness on Wednesday, John Johnson claimed that he had experienced age discrimination while working for Elon Musk’s rocket firm.
Elon Musk’s Company Prefers Younger Employees
Johnson declared that the Washington State Human Rights Commission had received his complaint. Insider has seen a copy of the complaint that Johnson made available. An inquiry from Insider for comment received no response from the commission.
In a phone discussion with Insider, Johnson stated that having an older employee goes against SpaceX’s business strategy of promoting young individuals. “At times, I questioned whether they regarded me as a loser for not having achieved independence and money by the time they were my age.”
Johnson claimed that nothing was done to address my predicament or reinstate my job duties even though she reported those remarks to human resources and later contacted SpaceX’s COO Gwynne Shotwell.
After taking over Twitter in late October, Musk fired half the staff; hundreds more people chose to quit rather than accept his strict work ethic.
The Starlink manager received a promotion a few months later. Johnson even got in touch with Gwynne Shotwell, the head of SpaceX. He was given the assurance that they would look into his claims, but he never heard back and later received word that SpaceX no longer needed his services due to changing business conditions.
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SpaceX Staff Complains About Discrimination
Johnson adds that Musk is now older than the vast majority of fresh-faced recent graduates his business employs and is therefore closer to Social Security eligibility. Employees at SpaceX have complained about a discriminating workplace before.
According to a New York Times investigation, three women who worked at SpaceX claimed they encountered sexual harassment and unwelcome advances from other interns as well as senior management in several situations.
An ex-employee of SpaceX sued the company in November 2021, claiming breach of contract, retaliation, and racial and national origin discrimination.
