Photos have emerged from a 'racist' slide show made by a senior Red Bull executive which sparked anger among the U.S. employees, a...
Photos have emerged from a 'racist' slide show made by a senior Red Bull executive which sparked anger among the U.S. employees, and ultimately resulted in the firing on Tuesday of three top executives.
Stefan Kozak, CEO of North America for the Austria-based company, and Amy Taylor, North America president and chief marketing officer were let go, the energy drink company confirmed on Tuesday.
Kozak and Taylor had lobbied in recent weeks for more diversity in the company and were blamed for the leak of a letter, signed by 300 employees, that criticized Red Bull's 'public silence' on Black Lives Matter.
Red Bull employees in the U.S. have reportedly been frustrated by the brand's lack of positive action in light of the current Black Lives Matters movement and have blamed it on the Austrian head office who regard it more as a 'local' issue in the U.S.
Florian Klaass, the Austrian-based head of global head of music, entertainment, and culture marketing, was also fired.
All three were told they were losing their jobs on Monday, Business Insider reported.
Klaass had been under fire since a February presentation in Detroit to 100 employees, discussing the global reach of the company.
Multiple employees said Klaass' Austria-based team included the slide, despite being warned not to do so by U.S. colleagues.
A meeting in Detroit in February was shown this slide, with an offensive map of the world
Florian Klass, global head of music, entertainment, and culture marketing, was fired Monday
In his presentation he showed a slide, which was leaked to Business Insider, of a world map that illustrated world stereotypes through American eyes.
America was marked: 'We're number 1!' while Canada was labeled 'uninhabited'.
The Middle East and Southeast Asia were marked as 'evil doers,' continental Europe as 'pussies,' and South America as 'coffee comes from here I think.'
Mexico was marked 'they do our laundry'; China was shown with the label 'they make our stuff'; the Middle East had an arrow indicating 'bombs go here'.
Antarctica was simply: 'cold'.
Australia was marked: 'kangaroos', and Africa was labeled: 'zoo animals come from here'.
When U.S. employees had complained to HR – which were of European background – about similar incidents in the past they'd been dismissed as being 'overly emotional', Business Insider reported.
Klass joined the company in January 2006 and is credited with overseeing the company's expansion into music festivals and events.
The company said he was let go due to downsizing.
North America chief executive Stefan Kozak, left, and North America president and chief marketing officer Amy Taylor, right, were let go, the energy drink company said Tuesday
Kozak and Taylor were the recipients of the June 1 letter, which they are, according to Business Insider, believed to have leaked.
Taylor, a 20-year veteran of the company, had been working for some time on making the company more inclusive.
She is an outspoken gay rights activist and has been commended for her efforts to make the company more open and tolerant.
Taylor wanted the company to speak out about racism and was working on a project to increase black representation but the company leadership was 'not interested', sources claim.
The employees' letter said that Red Bull has drawn heavily from various aspects of black culture, including hip-hop, breakdancing, and basketball, to promote its products.
'As we say nothing, we are abandoning the communities we claim to support and foster in their time of greatest need,' the letter read.
'Absence during a time that demands action, reveals purported support as nothing more than exploitation.'
On June 2, staff received another email written by Kozak that mentioned 'the murder of George Floyd and countless others.'
Regarding 'the current uprising,' Kozak wrote, 'I share these views and I applaud those who peacefully and courageously have made their voices heard.'
Then on June 14, Red Bull's head of communications, Carly Loder, sent an internal memo saying the company stood against racism but did not state that it would publicly support the movement.
While Red Bull employees in the US have been pressing for the company to be more vocal about racism, Red Bull's billionaire CEO Dietrich Mateschitz is a Donald Trump admirer who has spoken out against 'political correctness'.
The 76-year-old tycoon also owns a media firm which has been criticized for giving a platform to far-right activists in his native Austria.
Red Bull's billionaire CEO Dietrich Mateschitz (pictured watching one of his soccer teams on July 1) is a Donald Trump admirer who has spoken out against 'political correctness'
The Red Bull F1 team did put a statement out on June 22 speaking of its 'determination to tackle the challenges that we as a sport, but also society, are facing', saying that racism 'has no place in our modern world'.
The main Red Bull Instagram account posted a black square on June 2 in an online trend called Blackout Tuesday, which many celebrities used as a way of showing support for Black Lives Matter.
However, Kozak reportedly told employees on June 17 that the brand would not make further public comments on the matter.
Red Bull has not commented on the shake-up of its senior U.S. staff, but said the firm was dedicated to countering racism.
'We reject racism in every form, we always have, and we always will,' the company's board said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal.
'Red Bull has always put people and their dreams and accomplishments at its core and values the contribution of each and every person - no matter who they are.
'We want everyone who feels this way to be welcome in Red Bull.'
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