Apple fires one of the #AppleToo movement's leaders
Another #AppleToo leader has reportedly been placed on paid medical leave, saying her mental health has suffered as a result of harassment by some colleagues.
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Apple has fired one of the leaders of the #AppleToo movement, a labor organizing effort with the goal of offering the tech giant's employees more pay transparency and exposing "persistent patterns of racism, sexism, inequity, discrimination, intimidation, suppression, coercion, abuse, unfair punishment, and unchecked privilege."
Sources familiar with the situation told The Verge that Janneke Parrish, a program manager on Apple Maps, was terminated for "non-compliance" after deleting files off of her work devices during an internal investigation. The files reportedly included apps like Robinhood, Pokémon GO and Google Drive.
Parrish's attorney, Vincent White, confirmed to FOX Business that the Verge's reporting "appears to be entirely accurate", but declined to comment further.
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Parrish's termination comes after Apple CEO Tim Cook sent an email to employees in September vowing that the company is doing "everything in our power to identify those who leaked" details about an all-hands meeting that occurred last month, which reportedly covered topics including employee COVID-19 testing and the recent ruling in the company's legal battle with Fortnite creator Epic Games.
Cook had noted in the memo, which was leaked to the Verge, that "most of the details" from its recent "California Streaming" event, which announced new products including the iPhone 13 and the Apple Watch Series 7, were also leaked to the press prior to the official announcements.
Though Cook noted leakers constitute a "small number of people," he emphasized that the company does "not tolerate disclosures of confidential information" and that those who leak it "do not belong here."
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 167.04 | -0.96 | -0.57% |
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In addition to Parrish, former senior programming manager Ashley Gjøvik was fired last month for allegedly violating the company’s rules against leaking confidential information.
Gjøvik initially raised concerns that her office at Apple was located on a "triple Superfund toxic waste dump without safety testing for over 6 years." She's also spoken openly about allegations of retaliation, harassment, abuse and intimidation at the company via her Twitter account. She has made multiple filings with the National Labor Relations Board regarding her experiences at Apple, including one that alleges Cook's recent memo about leakers violated U.S. labor law.
In addition, Cher Scarlett, a software engineer who also helps lead the #AppleToo movement, has reportedly been placed on paid medical leave after she said her mental health has suffered as a result of harassment from some of her colleagues.
"We are and have always been deeply committed to creating and maintaining a positive and inclusive workplace," an Apple spokesperson told FOX Business. "We take all concerns seriously and we thoroughly investigate whenever a concern is raised and, out of respect for the privacy of any individuals involved, we do not discuss specific employee matters."