Menin questions Dwyer on OpenAI safety team firings
Menin asks about the Wall Street Journal report that OpenAI terminated three safety team members. Dwyer says she was not involved and does not know whether safety advocacy played any role, citing internal anti-retaliation policies.
So a couple comments on that.
If you can't quantify what the safety risk is, how do you know that the product is safe?
And then secondly, I want to ask you in particular, on October 1st, 2026, a Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI terminated three members of its safety team, allegedly for their access,
mishandling, and or sharing confidential company information with a third-party AI safety organization.
OpenAI reportedly stated that the employees violated company policies governing access to and handling of sensitive information.
Critics, meanwhile, questioned whether the dismissals could discourage employees from raising safety concerns.
So why were these employees fired?
I was not involved in that decision.
I don't work in HR or on those employees'teams.
What I do know is that OpenAI has strong internal policies that protect against retaliation for employees that report safety concerns.
I also know that we respect employees'rights to communicate safety concerns to relevant government authorities.
So just to be clear on what I'm asking, I'm asking directly whether safety-related advocacy played any role in these terminations.
I don't know.
I know that we have strong internal policies that protect employees from retaliation if they raise safety concerns to leadership.