Apple Fires Employee Behind AppleToo Internal Organizing Effort - Forbes

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Topline

Apple fired an employee Friday who had been leading an internal movement for change called AppleToo, according to The Verge, the second firing of an Apple employee outspoken against the company’s culture since September.

Key Facts

The company claimed Janneke Parrish, an Apple Maps program manager, wrongfully deleted sensitive company information off her devices during an investigation, in news first reported by The Verge Friday and later confirmed by other media outlets.

According to NPR, Apple is investigating numerous employees including Parrish who may have leaked information to journalists.

Parrish, who had been suspended pending the investigation, told the New York Times that Apple informed her of her firing via phone call Thursday, saying she”deleted files from her company computer and phone before handing them over to be examined.”

Parrish and Apple representatives have not yet responded to requests for comment from Forbes.

However, Parrish told the Times she just deleted “personal and financial information” that she did not want shared.

Parrish was one of the leaders of the organizing effort known as AppleToo, which began in August as a way to address “the culture of secrecy” at the company and discuss challenges employees face in reporting discrimination at Apple.

Key Background

Ashley Gjolvik, a former Apple senior engineering program manager and fellow outspoken critic, was fired by the company in September a month after filing a harassment complaint with the National Labor Relations Board. Gjolvik filed another claim with the NLRB Tuesday that Apple CEO Tim Cook violated the National Labor Relations Act in September by sending an email to all employees that “people who leak confidential information do not belong here.” With AppleToo, Parrish published anonymous accounts of Apple employees alleging issues such as pay inequity and threats of assault.

Crucial Quote

Regarding Parrish’s firing, an anonymous Apple employee told NPR, "Retaliating against Janneke is not going to stop Apple workers from standing up for themselves. There are many workers who support #AppleToo who are trying to break the culture of secrecy at the company, and they aren't going to stop."