On April 26th, Basecamp founder and CEO Jason Fried posted on his blog about some policy changes that would be happening at the company, which makes team collaboration software. One policy stuck out to many on the internet — the company would no longer be allowing its employees to have discussions about society or politics on its internal account.
What followed was a tidal wave of public outcry, employees speaking out against the policies (and talking about what led to them), several revisions of the blog post, and, finally, almost a third of the company’s employees deciding to accept buyouts and leave. There has since been an apology from Fried, but it remains to be seen if any more will be coming — there are still accusations made by employees that haven’t really been addressed.
Whether you’re looking to get caught up on the saga, or want to keep your eye out for future updates, we’re collecting the story into one place here.
May 4, 2021, 9:36 PM UTCKim Lyons
Basecamp CEO apologizes to staff in new post: ‘We have a lot to learn’
The software company has been under fire for how it handled employees’ concerns about culture
May 4, 2021, 12:00 AM UTCCasey Newton
Inside the all-hands meeting that led to a third of Basecamp employees quitting
The company’s senior leadership wanted to quell employees’ concerns, and only made things much, much worse
Apr 30, 2021, 8:20 PM UTCKim Lyons
Basecamp implodes as employees flee company, including senior staff
A controversial memo and a severance offer prompted many to head for the exits
Apr 28, 2021, 12:00 AM UTCCasey Newton
Behind the controversy at Basecamp
Basecamp announced it would ban “societal and political discussions” at work. But the hardest conversations at work were about the company itself.
