'Retire or die': Former SpaceX engineer accuses Elon Musk's firm of age discrimination

62-year-old John Johnson, who served as an engineer in Elon Musk’s SpaceX has accused the company of age discrimination. Hired in 2018 as an optics engineer, complained of a discriminatory workplace despite working 10-12 hours every day for seven days a week at the company’s office in California. Johnson made these revelations in a blog where he claimed that he was being pushed to quit his job. 

'He might retire or die'

In his explosive blog, Johnson wrote that he underwent physical therapy due to his injured back in early 2019 but managed not to miss his work. He, however, needed surgery for the injury and notified his manager about taking a few days off. The former SpaceX engineer alleged that the company, without informing him, hired a young engineer to take over his supplier development role. 

"These young men in their twenties and thirties descended upon me right before my surgery, scheduling meetings for a download on everything I was doing in those areas," Johnson wrote, claiming that those hired as his replacement were far less experienced than him. He also alleged that his complaint to human resources was labelled as 'misunderstandings' following which he said that age discrimination is a big part of the workplace. Johnson also revealed that his Starlink manager had said that he 'might retire or die', according to an engineer hired to take over his role. 

"It became clear that the company was pushing me to leave. In June 2022, after the promised alternative work did not materialize, and I was subjected to the public humiliation of being questioned about my very presence in a meeting I was invited to, as well as my ability to “deliver,” I submitted my resignation," he wrote.

Johnson is also said to have approached SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell who assured him of proper action but subsequently, did not hear from her. Notably, this is not the first time SpaceX has been accused of having a toxic work culture as several employees, including women, have alleged facing sexual harassment.

Elon Musk, who owns multiple companies, is known to demand 'hardcore' work ethic from his employees, which is a reason many choose to leave. This was seen after his Twitter takeover, following which he notified his employees to either be ready for hard work or find another job.