Over 500 employees of the artificial intelligence company OpenAI have signed an open letter calling for the resignation of the board of directors and the reinstatement of the terminated CEO Sam Altman and board member Greg Brockman, the Wall Street Journal reports. The staff has expressed their intention to leave if their demands are unmet.
“The process through which you terminated Sam Altman and removed Greg Brockman from the board has jeopardized all of this work and undermined our mission and company,” the letter reads. “Your conduct has made it clear you did not have the competence to oversee OpenAI.”
One of the signees, the company’s chief scientist and board member Ilya Sutskever, was accused of coordinating the ousting of Altman; however, he apologized for participating in the boardroom coup via X, formerly known as Twitter, on Nov. 20.
“I deeply regret my participation in the board’s actions. I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we’ve built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company,” he said of the shocking removal of the CEO on Friday, Nov. 17.
After Altman’s removal, OpenAI’s chief technology officer, Mira Murati, was appointed interim CEO. On Sunday, Nov. 19, the staff was informed that Altman would not be returning to the company despite the blowback from investors and several board members in the wake of his termination, Wired reports.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced on Nov. 20 that both Altman and Brockman had been appointed to lead a new
advanced AI research unit and informed other OpenAI employees that the doors of the tech giant would be open to them. “We look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success,” Nadella said.On Monday, OpenAI’s board removed Murati as CEO, appointing former Twitch leader Emmett Shear as interim CEO amid the chaos.
The remaining staff members further threatened to follow Altman to Microsoft in their letter, saying, “Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAI employees at this new subsidiary should we choose to join,” they wrote. Employees also allege that the board failed to give substantial reasoning for Altman’s termination. “Despite many requests for specific facts for your allegations, you have never provided any written evidence,” they said.