- Brad Garlinhouse rejects the ‘apolitical stance’ and further added that they have an ‘obligation’ to solve all the political and social issues
- CEO of Coinbase said that their company no longer encourages their employees to indulge in discussions regarding political and social issues
With things heating up ahead of the November elections in the US, Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple has made it clear that Coinbase’s policy which prevents employees from engaging in political discussion at work is an unfair one. Previously, Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, in an official announcement on September 27, 2020, said that their company no longer encourages their employees to indulge in discussions regarding political and social issues, rather they have to concentrate in making their company the best financial system in the globe.
Brad Garlinhouse, in an interview with CNBC, said that he rejects the ‘apolitical stance’ and further added that they have an ‘obligation’ to solve all the political and social issues. He believes that the political and societal problems are in peak due to the tech companies and the platforms. So it is their duty to provide solutions for the problems occurring. He supported his statement by providing paid time off to vote and to volunteer in United States Presidential elections for all his employees.
Brad also narrated an example that Ripple has taken YouTube to court, as they have failed to flag scam for the so-called ‘Crypto-giveaway videos’. This would no way help the company’s growth, but he wanted to teach the lesson that tech companies must accept the ownership of problems that are created by them. He also reported that Facebook and YouTube are used to manipulate election results and other social issues.
Brian Armstrong further made a ‘generous’ exit package to the employees who have different opinions in their new policy on October 8, 2020. He also reported that about 60 employees, i.e. 5% of the total team has opted for exit policy, including senior executives. This number may go higher, as still, some employees are in a dilemma. He thanked all those employees for their contribution made to Coinbase and wished them the best luck for their next chapter.
Brian believes strongly that all their employees must focus entirely on achieving the mission and thus making it a great place to work. Their mission is to make profits and to grow revenue to build a better company and team. They believe in this ideology. He thinks that they will emerge higher from this point. Through continued scaling, cultural norms will be rearticulated and clarified accordingly.