95 percent of OpenAI employees threaten to quit if board doesn't bring back Altman

We rarely see the face of a company whose CEO is abruptly fired. And we seldom see nearly 95 percent of the company's employees threaten to quit once the CEO has been fired. But this, and much more, happened at OpenAI, the unicorn behind ChatGPT, the viral AI tool that took the internet by storm last year.

On Saturday, news of Sam Altman's sudden departure from OpenAI was circulating the internet. But we didn't know that the story would not end there but would begin. In a new turn of events, nearly 700 of OpenAI's 770 employees have threatened to resign if the board does not bring Altman back. Employees say Microsoft has already assured their jobs if they decide to jump ship.

On the other hand, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, in an interview, hinted at Altman's possible return to OpenAI in some additional capacity.

Over 700 OpenAI employees threaten to resign

According to a New York Times report, over 700 of OpenAI's 770 employees signed a letter threatening to leave the company if Sam Altman is not reinstated. The employees added in the letter that Microsoft already has jobs for them.

Interestingly, Mira Murati (who was named interim CEO after Altman's departure) and Ilya Sutskever (who played a significant role in Altman's ouster as CEO) also signed the letter. Sutskever had recently said in a tweet that she regretted the role she played in Altman's departure from OpenAI.

The letter, addressed to the board, says employees have developed "the best models and pushed the field to new frontiers." The employees then add that their work on AI safety and governance "shapes global norms, and the products they built are being used by millions across the world."

However, how Sam Altman and Greg Brockman were removed from the board of directors "jeopardized all of their work and undermined their mission and company." The employees then wrote that the board's conduct "made it clear that they did not have the competence to oversee OpenAl."

The employees then mentioned that they would be unable to work for or with people who "lack competence, judgement and care for their mission and employees." They then mentioned that they could resign from OpenAI and join the new Microsoft subsidiary, which Altman and Brockman will lead.

The letter demanded that they take this step unless Altman and Brockman are reinstated, all board members resign, and new lead independent directors are appointed. It added, “Microsoft has assured us that there are positions for all OpenAl employees at this new subsidiary should we choose to join. We will take this step imminently, unless all current board members resign, and the board appoints two new lead independent directors, such as Bret Taylor and Will Hurd, and reinstates Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.”