--- title: "A Guy Quit Blue Origin and Sent Jeff Bezos a Memo That Tore the Company to Shreds" description: "A new Washington Post report paints an extremely troubling picture of Blue Origin's work culture, from rampant sexism to condescending micromanaging styles." date: "2021-10-12" modified: "2021-10-12" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/guy-quit-blue-origin-sent-jeff-bezos-brutal-memo" categories: - "Blue Origin" - "Future Society" - "Jeff Bezos" - "Space" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "blue origin" - "jeff bezos" - "SpaceX" --- # A Guy Quit Blue Origin and Sent Jeff Bezos a Memo That Tore the Company to Shreds ![A new Washington Post report paints an extremely troubling picture of Blue Origin's work culture, from rampant sexism to condescending micromanaging styles.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Another week, another [scathing account]() of Blue Origin's dysfunctional and toxic work culture. A new [*Washington Post* investigation](), which draws from interviews with more than 20 current and former Blue Origin employees, paints an extremely troubling picture, from rampant sexism to ineffective and condescending micromanagement by executives. One mid-level employee sent co-founder Jeff Bezos and the rest of the company's leadership an excoriating memo upon his departure in 2019, telling the execs that "our current culture is toxic to our success and many can see it spreading throughout the company," according to *WaPo*, noting that "the loss of trust in Blue’s leadership is common." Those are sentiments echoed by many of the space company's other former and present employees. "The C-suite is out of touch with the rank-and-file pretty severely," an unnamed former top exec told the newspaper. "It’s very dysfunctional. It’s condescending. It’s demoralizing, and what happens is we can’t make progress and end up with huge delays." The news comes just two weeks after an [essay]() signed by 21 current and former employees [painted a similarly troubling picture]() of the company's work environment. Three of those its signers were able to confirm allegations made in the essay to *WaPo* reporters. It's clear from the outside that Blue Origin has struggled to keep up with the competition. The company was planning to fly its heavy-lift [New Glenn rocket last year](), but we still have yet to see a prototype. It has also [faced significant delays]() in producing the engine meant to carry New Glenn and the United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur vehicle into orbit. Most recently, the company lost an enormous NASA lunar lander contract to SpaceX, which has [drawn the ire]() of the space company's leadership, culminating in Bezos [suing the space agency](). Reports about Blue Origin's toxic work culture have often centered around CEO Bob Smith, whose leadership style has done little to build a healthy work culture, according to the report. "It’s bad," one former top executive told *WaPo*. "Leadership has not engendered any trust in the employee base." Bezos [stepped down as Amazon CEO]() in February and is [committing more of his weekly schedule]() to Blue Origin. Whether that will be enough to reinvigorate employees and allow the company to turn a new page is uncertain. But at this point, "you basically need a new executive team and a totally new culture" to "start over," one industry official told *WaPo*. Bezos, Smith, and Blue Origin declined to comment to *WaPo*, despite Bezos' ownership of the newspaper. **READ MORE:** [Inside Blue Origin: Employees say toxic, dysfunctional ‘bro culture’ led to mistrust, low morale and delays at Jeff Bezos’s space venture]() \[*The Washington Post*\] ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()