不满须重返办公室工作 蓝源员工爆发离职潮
来源：新浪科技
10/03/2021
据报道，亚马逊创始人杰夫・贝索斯的太空公司 ——”蓝色起源“（Blue Origin）—— 目前正遭受着人才流失的困扰。人才流失的主要原因在于，首席执行官鲍勃・史密斯（Bob Smith）要求所有员工重返办公室工作。
“蓝色起源”拥有近 4000 名员工。虽然“蓝色起源”的发言人称，公司每年的人员流失率“从未超过 12.7%”，但这一数字已明显高于正常情况下一家公司的人员流失率（8-9%）。在今年，该公司的离职人数已经达到数百人。多位知情人士告诉媒体，根据推算，“蓝色起源”今年的人员流失率超过了 20%。
然而，公司发言人对外辩称，自去年年底到今年八月，“蓝色起源”的员工人数增加了 450 多人，从 3503 名增加到 3957 名。
但不管怎么说，人才流失导致了“蓝色起源”的项目普遍遭到延误，因为让新员工跟上公司的进度可能需要六个月到一年的时间。
“蓝色起源”人才流失的特点在于，离职人员涵盖了公司各个层级的人员，从上层到下层的员工都有。离职的高层人员包括新雪帕德火箭高级副总裁、发射任务保障负责人、人事招聘总监、轨道火箭高管、高级财务主管等等。
2017 年，贝索斯将史密斯从霍尼韦尔公司挖过来，赋予其执掌“蓝色起源”的重任。许多人认为，公司员工的激情和创造力没有问题，人员的大批离职和首席执行官史密斯的领导能力直接有关。他们认为，“蓝色起源”内部的公司文化氛围不佳。媒体了解到，有许多员工是在不情愿的情况下离开“蓝色起源”的，他们对公司的技术潜力深具信心，并且高度认同贝索斯向他们描绘的公司前景。
据悉，史密斯已对此在公司内部做了电子邮件回应，试图“安抚”公司上下，强调“不容忍任何形式的歧视或骚扰”。
随着太空行业的竞争正变得异常激烈，人才流失已经成为“蓝色起源”的一大隐忧。该公司的总部位于大公司云集的华盛顿州西雅图地区，这意味着公司员工很容易在其他地方找到高薪工作。此外，人事招聘总监在 9 月份的离职，也在短期内增加了“蓝色起源”的新员工招聘难度。
在“蓝色起源”一些业务部门，人才的流失比较严重，比如负责新雪帕德（New Shepard）火箭计划的部门，就出现了人员大批离职的情况。公司财务团队的人员流失也比较大。有消息称，“蓝色起源”的预算编制简直是一个噩梦。一个典型的例子是杰克林（Jacklyn）太空飞船海上着陆平台的预算编制。“蓝色起源”从一家瑞典船运公司处购买了该型号货船，并将其改造为新葛伦（New Glenn）可回收火箭的着陆平台。但是，受新冠疫情的影响，杰克林货船在改造过程中遇到了许多麻烦，项目花费比预算高出了约 21%。
过去，“蓝色起源”的人力资源部门会与离职人员进行离职面谈，了解离职原因。但现在，人力资源部门已经基本上停止了这么做。因为，近期离职的员工，都是对史密斯今年以来大力推动的重返办公室政策有所不满。数百名员工曾签署了一份请愿书，要求实施混合工作模式（hybrid work model ），但这一请愿并未得到史密斯的认可。
消息人士称，史密斯今年花费数百万美元租用了公司总部附近的扩展办公空间，他要求所有员工在九月前回到办公室工作，不允许混合工作模式。史密斯还计划在将来完全禁止远程工作。
今年春季，贝索斯还支持员工重返办公室工作，但他后来又否决了史密斯的这一政策。消息人士称，除少量员工外，其余大部分员工将继续进行远程工作。全面重返办公室的时间已经被推迟到了明年 1 月份。
贝索斯聘请史密斯作为他的得力助手，负责日常决策，这一角色有点类似于格温・肖特韦尔（Gwyne Shotwell）在 SpaceX 所担任的角色。肖特韦尔在马斯克的领导下担任 SpaceX 的总裁兼首席运营官。
到任后，史密斯迅速增加了“蓝色起源”的员工数量，从 2017 年的一千多名员工扩展到目前的近四千名员工。但在史密斯的治下，公司在多个主要项目上均陷入了挣扎，公司的首席运营官也在去年年底离职。
该公司今年最大的胜利是新雪帕德火箭首次载人发射的成功实施。但这一里程碑式的成功也是在多年的计划延迟后才得以实现。该公司原本计划在 2017 年年底前实现该型火箭的载人飞行。
新葛伦火箭是面向下一代火箭市场的可重复使用的轨道发射火箭。下一代火箭市场目前主要由 SpaceX 和联合发射联盟（United Launch Alliance, ULA）两家公司主导。新葛伦火箭最初计划在 2020 年进行首次飞行，但现在最快也要到 2022 年的第四季度才能实现了。据一位熟悉火箭研发进展的人士的说法，2022 年发射都有点过于乐观了，新葛伦的首次试飞有可能在 2024 年或者更晚。
BE-4 是“蓝色起源”的火箭发动机的核心部件，本应在 2017 年前就准备就绪。但在研发过程中，BE-4 碰到了无数的问题。因此，直到现在，“蓝色起源”仍未能开发出性能可靠的火箭发动机。值得注意的是，BE-4 不光对“蓝色起源”公司非常重要，对 ULA 也非常重要。ULA 已经与“蓝色起源”签约，将使用 BE-4 发动机为该公司的火神火箭（Vulcan rocket）提供动力 ——ULA 长期以来一直是五角大楼机密航天器的发射供应商。
知情人士称，根据合同，“蓝色起源”应在 2020 年 4 月前向 ULA 交付首批两台 BE-4 火箭发动机，但到了 2019 年初，该公司的发动机团队向史密斯提交了一份进展报告，称 BE-4 发动机的每个部件都还存在技术问题没有解决。到现在为止，该公司仍未向 ULA 交付 BE-4 火箭发动机。
此外，“蓝色起源”还在与 SpaceX 的竞争中失败，失去了美国宇航局的价值数十亿美元的月球着陆器合同。
项目延误和合同损失给公司首席执行官史密斯带来了巨大的压力，这或许可解释为什么史密斯的领导风格如此粗暴。此外，知情人士称，史密斯的表现与大部分员工的期望之间存在差距。史密斯与其领导团队也不太和谐。团队成员认为，史密斯是一名过于专注于小细节的微观管理者（micromanager）。但史密斯本人称，他不打算改变他的领导风格。
虽然“蓝色起源”的发言人否认了所有上述说法，但员工对史密斯的不满已经反映在招聘网站 Glassdoor 的评论上。该网站的数据显示，仅有 19% 的员工认可史密斯的领导能力，这大大低于其它太空公司高管所获得的认可度 ——91% 的 SpaceX 员工对埃隆・马斯克表示认可，而 77% 的 ULA 员工认可其首席执行官托利・布鲁诺（Tory Bruno）的表现。
目前，贝索斯正在向“蓝色起源”进一步投资数十亿美元，他还没有表现出对史密斯有任何不满。
据媒体报道，贝索斯本人已经开始对他的太空公司倾注更多的时间。两位熟悉贝索斯的人士表示，贝索斯在技术上很精明，对航天器和火箭技术有着深入的了解。
然而，这些知情人士也表示，贝索斯自己亲自全职经营“蓝色起源”的可能性微乎其微。
Veteran police officer resigns over vaccine mandate in chronically understaffed department
The department has chronically been understaffed and more officers could resign over the mandate
By Emma Colton | Fox News
9/21/2021
A nearly 30-year police veteran in California resigned over San Jose’s vaccine mandate as the police force continues struggling with chronic understaffing.
“First of all, it’s my religious belief. I also believe I’ve been given a choice about what to do with my body,” Sgt. David Gutierrez said after he resigned from the San Jose Police Department this weekend, KPIX reported.
Gutierrez spent 23 years with the San Jose Police Department working as a homicide detective, internal affairs investigator and patrol supervisor, before retiring in 2019. He then returned to the force as a reserve officer.
Gutierrez worked his last shift at the department on Saturday, and said he sent a letter to the city manager on Monday denouncing the city’s vaccine mandate, which requires city employees to show proof of vaccination or get a medical exemption. Those who don’t comply face disciplinary action, such as termination.
“Disciplinary action is when you have done something wrong,” Gutierrez said, according to NBC Bay Area. “I have done nothing wrong – by making a choice not to be vaccinated why would you be disciplined?”
Gutierrez added that he is not anti-vaccine and would be open to the city testing him on a weekly basis instead of enforcing the vaccine or getting a medical exemption.
“I’m not anti-vaccine. I don’t tell people, ‘You shouldn’t get it.’ But when it comes to my body, it’s my choice about what I want to put in my body,” Gutierrez said.
He sent his resignation letter ahead of the city’s Sept. 30 deadline for employees to get the vaccine, and said more officers could also walk off the job amid the department already facing understaffing issues.
“We are already understaffed and can’t afford to lose more,” Gutierrez said.
“If they let go police officers who’ve been here five years, 10 years, 15 years, you can hire somebody else, but you’re not going to hire that experience though,” he added.
A recent audit examining the last 10 years of the police department found the force has heavily relied on overtime as it struggles with understaffing.
About 200 officers in the department have so far asked for exemptions, many of which are for religious purposes. But the Democratic mayor, Sam Liccardo, says the vaccine mandate is overall working and doesn’t anticipate an exodus from the force.
“This is certainly for the protection of the individual members of our city team. But it’s also, critically, for the safety of our entire community because we know, obviously, first responders are out there interacting [with the public] every day,” Liccardo said, according to KPIX.
Northern NY hospital to stop delivering babies after resignations over Covid-19 vaccine
BY Christine Vendel
9/12/2021
A hospital in New York plans to stop delivering babies later this month because too many maternity workers resigned rather than get the Covid-19 vaccine.
Lewis County Health System Chief Executive Officer Gerald R. Cayer announced at a news conference Friday afternoon that the maternity department would be closed on Sept. 25 until they can find enough vaccinated nurses to safely reopen it.
Cayer told reporters in Lowville, is the North Country of New York state, that seven of the 30 people who have resigned from the hospital worked in the maternity department, according to the news site NNY360.
Seven additional maternity workers have not said whether or not they will get their first vaccine shot by Sept. 27, which is the deadline set by the state for healthcare workers to get at least one shot, according to the news site.
The health system has a higher than average percentage of its staff vaccinated, Cayer told reporters, with 464 employees vaccinated out of 650, or 73 percent.
But there are still 165 employees who have not yet shared their decision with hospital management, WWNY television news reported.
Medical services in five other departments may have to be cut back as well if more staff members resign because they refuse to be vaccinated
“It just is a crazy time,” Mr. Cayer said, according to NNY360, “It’s not just LCHS-centric. Rural hospitals everywhere are really trying to figure out how we’re going to make it work.”
“If you don’t have staff, how do you deliver the service? That’s what I’m going to be talking about,” Cayer said.
The Health System is one of only two county-owned hospitals left in the state and is the largest employer in the county.
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