Levi’s brand president said she was let go from the company over her stance on school closures due to COVID.
QUICK FACTS:
- Longtime Levi Strauss & Co brand president Jennifer Sey wrote a post Monday explaining how the company forced her to leave over her opinions on COVID restrictions in schools.
- “Early on in the pandemic, I publicly questioned whether schools had to be shut down,” Sey said. “This didn’t seem at all controversial to me. I felt — and still do — that the draconian policies would cause the most harm to those least at risk, and the burden would fall heaviest on disadvantaged kids in public schools, who need the safety and routine of school the most.”
- Sey explained that the head of corporate communications called her in the Summer of 2020, urging her to stop speaking publicly and sharing her own personal opinions.
- In recent weeks, Sey got the news from Levi’s CEO Charles Bergh that it was “untenable” for her to continue working for the popular clothing company, offering her a $1 million severance package, Fox Business reported.
SEY ON LEVI STRAUSS TODAY:
“I love Levi’s and its place in the American heritage as a purveyor of sturdy pants for hardworking, daring people who moved West and dreamed of gold buried in the dirt,” she said. “But the corporation doesn’t believe in that now. It’s trapped trying to please the mob — and silencing any dissent within the organization.”
BACKGROUND:
- While stock prices doubled under her leadership, Sey was told she would not become the next CEO unless she stopped talking publicly, and shortly after, left the company without accepting the severance.
- “In the end, no one stood with me. Not one person publicly said they agreed with me, or even that they didn’t agree with me, but supported my right to say what I believe anyway,” Sey said.
- The culture of Levi’s has made it impossible for employees to have a voice without getting terminated, according to the former president.
- “I like to think that many of my now-former colleagues know that this is wrong. I like to think that they stayed silent because they feared losing their standing at work or incurring the wrath of the mob,” Sey stated. “I hope, in time, they’ll acknowledge as much.”
