Hundreds of OpenAI staff have threatened to leave for Microsoft unless the board resigns

Hundreds of OpenAI employees, including co-founder and board member Ilya Sutskever, have signed a letter requesting that the remaining board members of OpenAI quit or that those OpenAI employees join Sam Altman‘s new endeavor at Microsoft.

According to the letter, Microsoft has «assured» those employees that they would have jobs at the new company if they «choose to join.»

Several OpenAI employees also expressed their support on social media. «OpenAI is nothing without its people,» according to the missives.

Altman was fired on Friday by OpenAI’s board, which included Sutskever, citing unexplained communications concerns. According to CNBC, this triggered a response from employees and investors, including Microsoft, Thrive Capital, and Sequoia.

The board then attempted to negotiate Altman’s return, but the talks failed. Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, said on Sunday that Altman and fellow OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman would join the business in a new, mostly independent endeavor. Nadella’s announcement also mentioned «colleagues» joining Microsoft, though the number was not specified.

Microsoft declined to comment on whether it will hire OpenAI staff who leave. OpenAI did not respond to the letter promptly.