Why did Jennifer Sey resign from Levi?
LEVI & Strauss Co. brand president, Jennifer Sey, has resigned from her post after more than 20 years with the company.
Sey announced her resignation on February 14, 2022, saying she disagreed with the company's policies.
Who is Jennifer Sey and why did she resign from Levi?
Jennifer Sey is a former gymnast who joined Levi's ranks as an assistant marketing manager in 1999 and worked her way up the corporate ladder to Levi's Brand President.
She was poised to become the next CEO of Levi before she ended her career with the company on February 13, 2022.
Her resignation came after the company allegedly demanded she stop speaking out against school closures and mask mandates in schools.
"More than 20 years ago I joined Levi’s," Sey said in a . "Yesterday I resigned my post as president so that I can use my voice."
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Sey said she was speaking out about school mandates as a private citizen and her comments were not on behalf of Levi.
In March 2021, Sey and her family gained national media attention when they moved to Denver, Colorado from San Francisco, California so her son could attend school in person.
As a kindergartener, Sey's son had never been to school and she told that the decision was made over the course of a week after her son was having trouble with virtual learning.
"He's a kindergartener at Alvarado in San Francisco which is a bilingual elementary school, but he's never been to school," Sey said. "He's struggling with online learning and socialization and we got tired of waiting so we came."
What has Jennifer Sey said about school closures?
Sey has continued to express her disdain for school closures, saying they should have stayed open during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In an , Sey said, "Early on in the pandemic, I publicly questioned whether schools had to be shut down. This didn’t seem at all controversial to me.
"I felt—and still do—that the draconian policies would cause the most harm to those least at risk, and the burden would fall heaviest on disadvantaged kids in public schools, who need the safety and routine of school the most."
However, she claimed that when she made these posts in 2020, she received a call from a head of corporate communications at Levi.
She claims the person said, "You know when you speak, you speak on behalf of the company,” to which she says she responded, “My title is not in my Twitter bio. I’m speaking as a public school mom of four kids.”
In a pinned tweet on Sey's Twitter page from July 30, 2021, she claimed it was progressives who failed the education system and created division.
She claimed it was the "progressives" who kept children out of school and were looking to do so for the third year in a row.
"I refuse to stand by and be silent while yet another year is stolen from kids - those who have the most to lose," she said in her post.
What has Jennifer Sey said about her resignation?
Jennifer Sey said she resigned because she refused to "be silenced" by Levi who said her comments reflected negatively on the company.
She announced her resignation on February 14 in a Twitter post that said, "More than 20 years ago I joined Levi’s. Yesterday I resigned my post as president so that I can use my voice."
Sey said Levi offered her a $1million severance package which she refused out of fear it would be accompanied by a non-disclosure agreement.
In her essay, Sey concluded, "I like to think that many of my now-former colleagues know that this is wrong. I like to think that they stayed silent because they feared losing their standing at work or incurring the wrath of the mob. I hope, in time, they’ll acknowledge as much.
"I’ll always wear my old 501s. But today I’m trading in my job at Levi’s. In return, I get to keep my voice."
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reported that Levi said in a statement that the current executive vice president and chief commercial officer, Seth Ellison, will take over as interim brand president for Levi.
The company did not provide additional comment on Sey's departure "citing company policy regarding personnel issues," WWD reported.
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