Apple has cut ties with a controversial new hire after internal pushback from employees over comments the ads engineer made in his book, a spokesperson for the company confirmed to multiple outlets.
Apple employees circulated a petition Wednesday demanding an investigation into the hiring of Antonio García Martínez despite his “overly racist and sexist remarks” about former colleagues in his 2016 book, “Chaos Monkeys.”
García Martínez has left the company after a few weeks in the new job, an Apple spokesperson said in a statement to Bloomberg News.
“At Apple, we have always strived to create an inclusive, welcoming workplace where everyone is respected and accepted,” an Apple spokesman told Bloomberg. “Behavior that demeans or discriminates against people for who they are has no place here.”
An Apple spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted by The Hill.
The petition was first reported by The Verge.
“It is concerning that the views Mr. García Martínez expresses in his 2016 book Chaos Monkeys were overlooked — or worse, excused — during his background check or hiring panel,” they reportedly wrote.
“Inclusion isn’t just about who we hire; it’s also about how we support everyone who already works at Apple. Given Mr. García Martínez’s history of publishing overtly racist and sexist remarks about his former colleagues, we are concerned that his presence at Apple will contribute to an unsafe working environment for our colleagues who are at risk of public harassment and private bullying. We are entitled to insight into how the People team intends to mitigate this risk,” the petition continues.
García Martínez had been working as a product engineer on ads platforms at Apple since April, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He previously worked at Facebook and Twitter.
