SpaceX’s COO Tells Employees to “Focus on Your Job” Over Safety Concerns: Report
Gwynne Shotwell, the COO of SpaceX, told employees in a 2022 email to “focus on your job and the mission of SpaceX — to get humanity to Mars as quickly as possible,” after they raised workplace complaints in an open letter, Reuters reported. This comes after an open letter accused the company of dismissing employee concerns.
The email was a response to an open letter written by SpaceX employees criticizing the company’s dismissive attitude toward employees’ concerns and inconsistent enforcement of discipline policies. Nine employees were fired for raising complaints in the letter, with eight filing unfair labor practice complaints with the National Labor Relations Board.
One major area of concern for employees at SpaceX is the company’s safety procedures. An investigation by Reuters found that at least 600 SpaceX workers were injured since 2014 at its facilities across the US. The investigation showed that SpaceX’s average injury rates at three of the facilities were significantly higher than that of the wider space industry. The Brownsville, Texas, site had an average injury rate of 4.8 injuries per 100 workers in 2022, Hawthorne, California, was at 1.8, and McGregor, Texas, was at 2.7. Among the injuries were nine workers who suffered head injuries, including one traumatic brain injury, and 17 who had their hands or fingers “crushed.”
Other issues at the SpaceX facilities were detailed by current and former workers, including workers taking Adderall without prescriptions and some sleeping in bathrooms at one site. Some workers tasked with welding rockets in tents worked in extreme temperatures of up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, receiving IV treatments to continue working if they suffered from the heat.
Elon Musk’s seemingly relaxed attitude to safety was also apparent in his visits to the facilities. Some employees said that Musk would sometimes play with a novelty flamethrower that can shoot a flame over five feet. They also mentioned that he preferred workers not to wear safety yellow due to his dislike of bright colors.
“SpaceX’s mission ‘to go to Mars as fast as possible and save humanity permeates every part of the company,'” said former SpaceX engineer Tom Moline. “The company justifies casting aside anything that could stand in the way of accomplishing that goal, including worker safety,” he added.
SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment from Insider.
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