The CEO of food ordering company Grubhub unleashed a political screed after the Nov. 8 election and said that those who disagree with its anti-Trump views should resign.
Matt Maloney’s Grubhub facilitates food orders for more than 45,000 takeout restaurants in the U.S. and London. The Donald Trump-supporting employees who make it run smoothly were sent an invective-laced email Wednesday and told to quit if they disagreed with Mr. Maloney’s claims.
“I’m still trying to reconcile my own worldview with the message that was sent last night,” Mr. Maloney wrote in a company-wide email titled “So … that happened … what’s next?”
The Grubhub co-founder then went on to blast the billionaire’s “demeaning” rhetoric towards minorities and other groups.
“I absolutely reject the nationalist, anti-immigrant and hateful politics of Donald Trump and will work to shield our community from this movement as best as I can,” Mr. Maloney continued, Fox News first reported Thursday.
“I want to reaffirm to anyone on our team that is scared or feels personally exposed, that I and everyone else here at Grubhub will fight for your dignity and your right to make a better life for yourself and your family here in the United States,” he said in the email, which the company later posted online.
Trump supporters within the organization were then told that disagreement with Mr. Maloney’s assertions should serve as the impetus for a resignation letter.
“If you do not agree with this statement then please reply to this email with your resignation because you have no place here,” the CEO wrote. “We do not tolerate hateful attitudes on our team.
When asked by Fox News to comment on the internal memo, Mr. Maloney said that “almost 20 percent” of his workforce thanked him for the directive.
“I am not embarrassed by it,” he told the network.
Grubhub then went on to issue a statement as word of its CEO’s comments spread.
“Some of the statements in my email (please see full text below) have been misconstrued,” Mr. Maloney said. “I want to clarify that I did not ask for anyone to resign if they voted for Trump. I would never make such a demand. To the contrary, the message of the email is that we do not tolerate discriminatory activity or hateful commentary in the workplace, and that we will stand up for our employees.”
“Grubhub welcomes and accepts employees with all political beliefs, no matter who they voted for in this or any election. We do not discriminate on the basis of someone’s principles, or political or other beliefs.”
This is full email sent from @Grubhub CEO asking his employees who agree with Trump’s rhetoric to resign https://t.co/oPnBQZHZq2 @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/Zdz5F3HFTM
— Bryan Llenas (@BryanLlenas) November 10, 2016
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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