SpaceX, the private rocket company, on Thursday fired employees who helped write and distribute an open letter criticising the behaviour of chief executive Elon Musk, said three employees with knowledge of the situation.

Some SpaceX employees began circulating the letter, which denounced Musk’s activity on Twitter, on Wednesday. The letter called the billionaire’s public behaviour and tweeting “a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment” and asked the company to rein him in. Musk is currently closing a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter.

By Thursday afternoon, SpaceX had fired some of the letter’s organisers, according to the three employees and an email from Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and COO. In her email, which was obtained by The New York Times, she said the company had investigated and “terminated a number of employees involved” with the letter.

“The letter, solicitations and general process made employees feel uncomfortable, intimidated and bullied, and/or angry because the letter pressured them to sign onto something that did not reflect their views,” Shotwell wrote. “We have too much critical work to accomplish and no need for this kind of activism.”

It was unclear how many employees were fired. James Gleeson, a SpaceX spokesman, did not return a request for comment.

(New York Times News Service