Apple has fired one of its senior engineering program executives, Ashley Gjøvik for allegedly violating the company’s rules against leaking confidential information. Gjøvik has had a record of consistently tweeting about harassment, surveillance, and workplace safety since March 2021.
Any bets if I get a literal knock on my physical door from #Apple today? pic.twitter.com/oFqw4VFaGi
— Ashley M. Gjøvik (@ashleygjovik) September 9, 2021
The sack seems to be a culmination of activities involving the engineering program manager and Apple. Gjøvik claimed to have immediately faced retaliation and intimidation from the top management of the company, and she had braced herself for the predictable action of getting the sack. She however expressed her utter disappointment that a company she had loved as a little girl would treat their employees in such a manner.
Sooo, #Apple has pics of my boobs. During a discovery thing 3yr ago, legal forced me to hand-over all my texts. They refused to let me delete anything, even "fully personal," even when I said "by fully personal I mean nudes." They said they're in their "permanent evidence locker"
— Ashley M. Gjøvik (@ashleygjovik) August 19, 2021
Gjøvik had gradually raised concerns about her workplace and the prevailing unfair conditions. She had said that her office was located in a superfund site requiring special oversight due to historical waste contamination. In addition, she had raised privacy concerns about Apple’s policy of surveillance of employees.
Last month, Gjøvik was placed on administrative leave, according to Apple. Her allegations were investigated thereafter and the company claims they were without merit. A member of Apple’s employee relations team had contacted Gjøvik earlier today on suspicion of leaking confidential information. The communication between the pair did not go smoothly and it is believed that the company representative informed her of her suspension that will also prevent her access to Apple systems.
Apple was looking into a sensitive intellectual property matter and the representative had wanted to speak to Gjøvik within an hour. Gjøvik however preferred to have all communications in writing. She also noted she was forwarding the correspondence along to the NLRB, where she recently filed a charge.
The fluid nature of the process ultimately led to the sack of Gjøvik, which was communicated to her via an email she received a few hours later. The effective day of the termination of employment was put on September 11, 2021.
This may not be the end of the matter. There could be more legal fireworks in the days and weeks ahead.
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(via)
