Mozilla’s chairperson Mitchell Baker has announced that Brendan Eich is to immediately step down from the company after widespread protests at his appointment. Eich had held the position of CEO for just two weeks.
In a statement posted online, Baker said that Eich “made this decision for Mozilla and our community. Mozilla believes both in equality and freedom of speech… this time we failed to listen, to engage, and to be guided by our community.” Baker went on to apologise, saying that the company had not acted how “you’d expect Mozilla to act”.
The announcement comes after a two-week furore at Eich taking up the position. It was discovered that Eich, co-founder of Mozilla and the inventor of Javascript, had donated $1,000 in 2008 to support the campaign for Proposition 8, the law that made same-sex marriage illegal in California until it was overturned by the Supreme Court.
[M]ore than 70,000 people had signed a petition calling for
Eich’s resignation
It was a donation that many saw as a direct contradiction to Mozilla’s inclusive and ethical values. Baker re-emphasised that Mozilla’s “organisational culture reflects diversity and inclusiveness. We welcome contributions from everyone regardless of age, culture, ethnicity, gender, gender-identity, language, race, sexual orientation, geographical location and religious views. Mozilla supports equality for all.”
Pressure had been rapidly mounting on Eich prior to the announcement. Last week, three members of Firefox’s board stood down after his promotion, the Wall Street Journal reported. Mozilla says that the board members’ resignation was unrelated to Eich.
Meanwhile, more than 70,000 people had signed a petition calling for Eich’s resignation. Dating site OKCupid had posted a message advising users not to use Firefox until Eich was no longer CEO, and a wider boycott of Firefox was beginning to take hold.
In an interview with CNET, Eich resisted calls that he should stand down, saying “I feel strongly about what’s happened, and I feel I’m still the best CEO for the job. I’ve got lots to contribute and I’ll help us turn some corners.”
Eich acknowledged the resignation on his blog but did not mention the scandal. “I’ve resigned as CEO and I’m leaving Mozilla to take a rest, take some trips with my family, look at problems from other angles”, he wrote.
Meanwhile questions still remain as to how Mozilla elected Eich without properly vetting him or considering the backlash of the appointment. Baker said that the search for Mozilla’s next CEO was already underway and wrote that “what’s next for Mozilla’s leadership is still being discussed. We want to be open about where we are in deciding the future of the organization and will have more information next week.”