tech2 News StaffMay 13, 2021 18:02:55 IST
Apple’s recent hire – Antonio García Martínez, a former Facebook product manager – on the ad targeting team has been let go after a backlash by company employees. Apple confirmed to Axios that Martínez was no longer employed by the company. Apple reportedly told the publication it “always strived to create an inclusive, welcoming workplace.” Martínez was let go after Apple employees were angered by sexist remarks made by him in his autobiography titled Chaos Monkey. The book includes statements such as: “Most women in the Bay Area are soft and weak, cosseted and naive despite their claims of worldliness, and generally full of shit”.
Martínez’s words “directly oppose Apple’s commitment to Inclusion & Diversity”, read a petition signed by over 2,000 Apple employees. This was first reported by The Verge.
Antonio García Martínez, a newly hired engineer on Apple’s ads team, is gone from Apple after employee backlash regarding sexist comments he made in his book Chaos Monkeys, company says. Employees have been incredibly angry about his hire and questioned Apple’s hiring practices.
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) May 13, 2021
Martínez’s Chaos Monkey was published in 2016. Recently, a screenshot from his book – with the quote mentioned above – started circulating on Twitter.
From his book: https://t.co/wtzbggTcnz pic.twitter.com/C1RDLEqVvR
— Chad Loder (@chadloder) May 11, 2021
After the petition began to go around the Apple office, Martínez’s Slack account was deactivated. Later, the ad platforms team was reportedly called into a meeting and it was decided he would no longer be allowed to work at Apple.
The petition against Martínez and his statement in his book goes beyond just sexism. Considering his autobiography was a bestseller, and his comments in the book led to the termination of his employment, how was he employed in the first place? Did Apple miss his bestseller autobiography or did the company choose to ignore it?
