Jennifer Sey was a rising star at Levi Strauss. The previous gymnast spent a long time working her means up on the denims firm, ultimately even being thought-about a doable candidate to turn into CEO. Then COVID-19 occurred. In a weblog publish, she wrote that she determined to depart the attire maker after it pressured her to cease talking about her opposition to school closures due to the pandemic.
Sey additionally stated she turned down $1 million in severance as a result of she feared it might include a non-disclosure settlement that will prohibit her from speaking about the explanations behind her departure.
“The money would be very nice. But I just can’t do it,” she stated Monday in her weblog post, revealed on a Substack account run by conservative author Bari Weiss.
In an electronic mail to CBS MoneyWatch, Levi’s confirmed Sey’s resignation. Chief Business Officer Seth Ellison will take on the obligations as model president on an interim foundation, whereas the corporate begins its seek for somebody to fill Sey’s function. Levi’s did not reply to Sey’s feedback or allegations.
The resignation is the newest instance of companies caught within the crosshairs of opposing views on COVID-related insurance policies, such because the boycott of Carhartt merchandise sparked final month when its CEO stated he was nonetheless mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for workers even after the Supreme Court docket dominated in opposition to the federal regulation. Sey stated she wished to talk out in opposition to school closures due to “the harms caused by virtual learning.”
Her views drew criticism from a number of executives and departments at Levi’s, she stated, together with its HR and authorized departments. Sey added that she was instructed she was on monitor to turn into the corporate’s subsequent CEO, however that she needed to “stop talking about the school thing.”
“In the last month, the CEO told me that it was ‘untenable’ for me to stay,” Sey wrote.
“Trying to please the mob”
Levi’s is “trapped trying to please the mob — and silencing any dissent within the organization. In this it is like so many other American companies: held hostage by intolerant ideologues who do not believe in genuine inclusion or diversity,” Sey wrote.
Sey, who has 4 youngsters, stated that she spoke out on school closures as a personal citizen, not on behalf of Levi’s. In her publish, she stated she moved her household from San Francisco, California, to Denver in order that her kindergartner may attend school in individual — a transfer that attracted each native and national media attention.
Her opinions drew each assist and criticism from readers on social media.
“You are making a choice. Most do not make enough for that luxury,” one reader famous. “But do you understand why schools closed? Sure, some risk to kids. But the key really is viruses often get into homes through schools more than kids are at risk.”
