Apple parts ways with recent hire Antonio Garcia-Martinez amid backlash

Apple has severed ties with recent hire Antonio Garcia-Martinez, a former Facebook employee and author of the book Chaos Monkeys, following an uproar from employees upset over Garcia-Martinez' past writings demeaning women and others.

Why it matters: Employees had circulated a petition Wednesday calling for Apple to explain its hiring of Garcia-Martinez. While petitions aren't uncommon at Google and some other companies, it is rare for Apple employees to organize publicly on any issue, let alone an individual hiring.

Apple confirmed to Axios that Garcia-Martinez was no longer employed by the company and said in a statement that it has "always strived to create an inclusive, welcoming workplace."

The company declined further comment. Garcia-Martinez was not immediately available for comment.

Context:

• News broke earlier this week that Apple had hired Garcia-Martinez for an unspecified role
• In the petition, first reported by the Verge, employees write: "We demand an investigation into how his published views on women and people of color were missed or ignored, along with a clear plan of action to prevent this from happening again."

In one passage from Chaos Monkeys, Garcia-Martinez describes women in the Bay Area as "soft and weak, cosseted and naive despite their claims of worldliness, and generally full of shit.”

• This passage was also cited online when Garcia-Martinez started writing for Wired magazine.

Our thought bubble: This wasn't just offensive tweets or e-mails from the pst (though those have been appearing as well), but things he wrote in a best-selling book. One has to wonder if whoever at Apple hired Garcia-Martinez hadn't read the book or didn't care.

The big picture: Silicon Valley spends a ton of time wringing its hands over the lack of women and people of color in the industry and the industry is still rife with examples of those with records of antagonistic viewpoints or a history of harassment are often hired and promoted, while those who are vocal about inequities often see themselves fired, sidelined or shifted out of a promising career track.

from Hacker News https://ift.tt/3bpOQ3g