Is Anthropic Facing an Employee Exodus? OpenAI's Sam Altman Says 'This Is Not a Good Sign'

Anthropic is facing new questions about employees leaving after two people closely involved with Claude Code, Thariq Shihipar and Anthony Morris, announced their departures within a day of each other.

Shihipar worked on Claude Code for more than a year. He said he planned to take a break before “diving into something new.” Morris, who created Claude Code for desktop computers, said October 23 was his last day at Anthropic. He added, “I'll share what's next soon!”

Their departures have led to online discussion, especially after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly pointed to a recent wave of employees leaving Anthropic.

Shihipar's departure stands out because he had worked on Claude Code, Anthropic's coding tool, for more than a year. Instead of saying he would immediately join another company, he said he planned to take a break before “diving into something new.”

Morris, meanwhile, played a major role in Claude Code for desktop computers. His last day at Anthropic marked another high-profile departure from the team behind one of the company's well-known AI products.

His goodbye message gave few details about his plans. He wrote, “I'll share what's next soon!”

The timing of the two departures has drawn special attention because they happened within a day of each other. Since both people worked on Claude Code, their exits have raised questions about whether there is a larger change happening inside Anthropic or whether they are simply making separate career choices.

The available information does not show that the two departures are connected or that either person left because they were unhappy with Anthropic.

Sam Altman Says Anthropic Departures Are 'Not a Good Sign'

People began discussing the departures even more after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman commented on what he described as a wider pattern of employees leaving Anthropic. He said: “A lot of Anthropic employees have been leaving within the past 2 weeks. This is not a good sign.”

Altman later suggested one possible reason, while making clear that he did not know the details of these particular departures. He said: “Sometimes people leave after a model is done training to try other things but not sure what the case is here.”

His comments have turned what might otherwise look like two individual career decisions into a wider discussion about the AI industry. Anthropic is competing strongly in the AI market, and Claude and Claude Code have become increasingly important parts of its range of products.

What the Departures Could Mean for Claude Code

The departures have attracted attention because both Shihipar and Morris worked on Claude Code. They were not employees leaving two unrelated parts of Anthropic.

Shihipar spent more than a year working on Claude Code, while Morris created the desktop version. Both people were directly involved in building and improving Anthropic's coding tools.

However, their departures do not automatically mean there is a problem within the Claude Code team. Employees may leave after finishing major projects, take a break, start new businesses or look for opportunities elsewhere.

Altman himself suggested that some Anthropic employees might be leaving after a model finishes training to “try other things.”

For now, neither Shihipar nor Morris has publicly explained why they left beyond what they said in their goodbye messages.

The available information also does not reveal where either engineer will work next. Morris said only, “I'll share what's next soon!” Shihipar said he would take a break before moving on to something new.

This uncertainty makes the departures noteworthy, but it does not prove that there is a larger problem. Two people who helped build Claude Code left Anthropic within a day of each other, drawing attention at a time when people are already discussing employee turnover at the company.

It remains unclear whether the departures point to a wider change inside Anthropic, reflect the usual movement of employees after a project ends, or are simply two unrelated career decisions.