OpenAI staff threaten to leave if ousted CEO Altman is not reinstated

The fast-moving OpenAI saga has taken a new turn with the news that more than 500 of the company's employees have threatened to quit unless the board resigns and reinstates Sam Altman as its CEO.

OpenAI stunned the industry when Altman was ejected from the artificial intelligence biz on Friday. Now, 550 of OpenAI's 700 staff have signed a letter saying they may stand down and join the newly announced Microsoft AI subsidiary that Altman was put in charge of today.

The text of the letter was posted on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, by tech journalist Kara Swisher. In it, the employees say that Microsoft had assured them there would be positions at the new subsidiary, should they choose to join.

"We will take this step imminently, unless all current board members resign, and the board appoints two new lead independent directors, such as Bret ...