A visual effects designer at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing has been dismissed for racist remarks he made on social network LinkedIn.

In a brief statement Thursday, the academy’s Institute of Automation said it had terminated its contract with the employee, Mark A. Kolars. Two days earlier, the institute had posted a notice saying it was “extremely shocked and angry” upon being alerted to Kolars’ “wrong attitudes.” The institute said it considered “adhering to China’s laws and regulations and respecting Chinese culture” to be “primary conditions” for employment. Neither statement disclosed Kolars’ nationality.

According to screenshots circulating on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like microblogging platform, Kolars in one message appeared to describe his Chinese colleagues as “dirty yellow guys, talking trash all day long.” In another post, Kolars allegedly wrote that China was “not smart enough” to reach a global benchmark set by Europe because of “inbreeding for too long.”

Kolars reportedly apologized on LinkedIn Tuesday night for comments that were “inappropriate and racist in nature,” according to the South China Morning Post. His profile on the social network was no longer accessible Thursday. (Image: @买家张俊 on Weibo)