Bob Smith, the CEO of Blue Origin, who took control of the business in 2017, is said to have established an “inner circle” of dependable top executives who frequently make “unilateral decisions, often without the buy-in of engineers, other experts, or senior leaders across various departments,” according to the essay.
However, 21 current and former Blue Origin employees publicly accused the company in 2021 of having a toxic workplace culture, citing things like unsafe practices, a lack of tolerance for dissent, and sexism.
According to eight former SpaceX employees, a string of safety lapses in January 2022 led to one serious injury, highlighting systemic issues at SpaceX.
The authors of the essay also condemn Blue Origin's alleged sexist practices, detailing a work environment where women's opinions are frequently disregarded and some male executives are reportedly known to treat female staff members with disrespect.
The investigation also highlights that while the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has required companies to report their total number of injuries every year since 2016, SpaceX failed to do so for most of those years.
