Facebook employee, protesters expresses concern after death at company's headquarters

ByKris Reyes KGO logo
Friday, September 27, 2019
Facebook employee, protesters expresses concern after death at company's HQ
A Facebook employee is speaking out after a man died when he jumped from a building at the company's Menlo Park campus. Dozens of protesters filled the lawn in front of the company's iconic "Like" sign at Facebook headquarters Thursday afternoon.

MENLO PARK, Calif. (KGO) -- A Facebook employee is speaking out after a man died when he jumped from a building at the company's Menlo Park campus. Dozens of protesters filled the lawn in front of the company's iconic "Like" sign at Facebook headquarters Thursday afternoon.

Yi Yin says he joined the protest because he can relate to the man who died.

"We need the truth, we need the fair investigation what on earth happened," said Yin, a software engineer at the company.

He says he understands the pressure and stress of working for the social media giant. He was surrounded by others protesters, who don't work at the company but who say they do consider the man who died as part of their community.

"Some insiders have the speculation that the victim endured extreme stress and maybe a toxic work environment," says Amelia, a protester.

Facebook was not available for comment on their workplace environment but released a statement.

Police say they responded to the Menlo Park campus after a call of a man who jumped from the fourth floor of a building on Sept. 20.

"We were saddened to learn that one of our employees passed away ... We're cooperating with police in their investigation and providing support to employees," according to a company spokesperson.

Jonathan Tran Pham is the founder of the Bay Area-based startup Reflect. The company provides access to therapy services. He says career-related stress is the leading reason why people use their platform.

"There's this constant pressure in the tech community to always be chasing metrics and growth," said Tran Pham, "I think if folks are saying there's something broken, and I were the company I'd really listen and ask how do I provide more support so people don't think it's toxic."

None of the protesters knew that man who died, they simply say they don't want this to happen to another employee.

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