SpaceX accused of axing staffers who dubbed Elon Musk 'distraction and embarrassment'

Elon Musk’s space agency, SpaceX, in a complaint by a United States labour agency, has been accused of unlawfully firing eight workers who were critical of its multi-billionaire chief executive, the BBC reported.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), filed a complaint alleging that employees sent an open letter to the firm's executives in 2022, describing him as a "distraction and embarrassment".

The complaint by NLRB's regional official accused SpaceX of violating the workers' rights under federal labour law which allows co-workers to jointly advocate for better working conditions.

Additionally, the complaint revealed that those involved in the open letter were interrogated before being discharged.

One of the former employees, Deborah Lawrence's lawyers have reportedly accused SpaceX of having a "toxic culture", where harassment is tolerated.

In a statement, Lawrence said: "We wrote the open letter to leadership not out of malice, but because we cared about the mission and the people around us".

SpaceX's case, which can be appealed to the board and federal appeals court, will be heard on March 5 by an administrative judge. Meanwhile, if the NLRB finds the firings violated labour law, it can order the worker to be reinstated and paid back.

This is not the first time Musk's companies have been accused of violating employees' rights.

In October, the NLRB accused X, formerly known as Twitter, of illegally firing an employee over tweets challenging the company's return-to-office policy but the social media platform denied any wrongdoing.

Furthermore, electric car manufacturer Tesla has also faced several NLRB complaints including allegations of race discrimination at its factories but the company has said that it does not tolerate discrimination.

In August, the US Department of Justice sued SpaceX, alleging it discriminated against refugees and asylum seekers in its hiring practices.

At the time, Musk posted on X: "US law requires at least a green card to be hired at SpaceX, as rockets are considered advanced weapons technology".