Current, former employees at Bezos' Blue Origin allege sexism, loose safety standards

A group of more than 20 current and former employees are alleging that billionaire Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin space rocket company is a toxic workplace and fails to follow safety protocols.

The workers claim in an essay published Thursday on Lioness.com that sexism exists at the Kent, Washington, company.

The employees, led by former head of Blue Origin employee communications Alexandra Abrams, state "numerous senior leaders have been known to be consistently inappropriate with women." They also claim that many company leaders were "unapproachable" and showed clear bias against women, according to the Associated Press.

The group also raised safety concerns, arguing Blue Origin seemed to eschew safety issues to beat billionaires Richard Branson and Elon Musk into space.

Bezos launched into space on July 21, the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Virgin Galactic’s Branson beat him to space by nine days.

The group said that last year company leaders seemed impatient with New Shepard rocket's schedule of a few flights per year, instead wanting more than 40, the wire service also reports.

"Some of us felt that with the resources and staff available, leadership’s race to launch at such a breakneck speed was seriously compromising flight safety," they said.

Blue Origin said in a statement that it has no tolerance for any kind of harassment or discrimination and that it stands by its safety record. The company said it believes "New Shepard is the safest space vehicle ever designed or built," the Associated Press also reports.