On Wednesday, a 62-year-old engineer claim he was sidelined by SpaceX because they feared he might “retire or die,” in an essay published on whistleblower site Lioness.
In 2018, John Johnson joined SpaceX at the age of 58 and received “consistently solid” performance reviews for his “quite hardcore” work ethic.
In 2020, he had a back surgery, but was able to return in just a few days. However, he was stripped of his responsibility upon return.
His responsibilities were instead assigned to far younger and less experienced engineers, which he was told to train without explanation.
“I like what I was doing for SpaceX when they let me do my work – all I really wanted was to be able to get re-engaged and go back to work.”
– John Johnson
Johnson have filed a complaint with the Washington State Human Rights Commission.
