Employers such as Microsoft and Delta are taking action against workers who post comments about Charlie Kirk that they say violate company values.
In the days since Charlie Kirk’s death, some companies have been forced to navigate a delicate situation: employees sharing their personal views about the conservative activist in public.
For employers, those remarks highlight the growing challenge of balancing free expression with corporate values and workplace harmony.
Major corporations such as Microsoft and Delta Air Lines are taking action against employees who have made social media posts critical of Kirk’s own views, or even ones celebrating his death, which could be considered a violation of company values.
Kirk, an ally of President Donald Trump, advocated conservative beliefs on college campuses and was influential among young people on the right. But many find his comments about immigrants, trans rights, and feminism intolerant and divisive.
Here is how some companies are responding.Microsoft
Microsoft shared an X post on Friday addressing negative remarks about Kirk made online by some of its employees.
«We’re aware of the views expressed by a small subset of our employees regarding recent events», the company said. «We take matters like this very seriously and we are currently reviewing each individual situation.»
Microsoft said, «Comments celebrating violence against anyone are unacceptable and do not align with our values.»
Microsoft’s statement came after Tesla CEO Elon Musk called out Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on X in response to an unverified claim that some employees at Blizzard, a video game company owned by Microsoft, had posted comments «trashing» Kirk.Office Depot
The ODP Corporation, the parent company of Office Depot, apologized to consumers on Friday after footage taken at a Michigan Office Depot gained attention on social media. The footage appeared to show an employee refusing to print a poster for a vigil associated with Kirk.
«The behavior displayed by our associate is completely unacceptable and insensitive, violates our company policies, and does not reflect the values we uphold at Office Depot. On behalf of the Company, we sincerely apologize for this regrettable situation», the company said in a press release.
The company said it fired the employee involved in the interaction.
«We also launched an immediate internal review and, as a result, the associate involved is no longer with the organization», the press release said. «We continue to aggressively investigate the matter and will take action where appropriate.»
A spokesperson told Business Insider that Office Depot was continuing to «closely manage» its response to the interaction.Nasdaq
On Friday, Nasdaq said it fired an employee for their remarks about Kirk because they violated company policy.
«We are aware of social media posts by an employee regarding the shooting of Charlie Kirk that were a clear violation of our policy. Nasdaq has a zero-tolerance policy toward violence and any commentary that condones or celebrates violence», the company said on X.
