A woman named Brittany Pietsch, who worked as an account executive at Cloudflare, shared a video of her being fired during a Zoom call by a man she never met. This shocking incident followed her co-workers receiving random 15-minute call invites all day, during which her best friend from work told her she was laid off. During the call, Pietsch was met with two unfamiliar faces, a woman named Rosie from HR and a man named Dom, whom Pietsch claimed to be a director that she’d never heard of before.
Pietsch defended her work and asked for an explanation for her termination, but Dom was unable to provide any specific reasons why her performance expectations were not met. Later, Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince stated that the company frequently rotates out underperforming employees and determines the success of sales hires within three months or less. This led to a widespread debate about companies like Cloudflare that easily let go of employees with little to no explanation.
Despite Prince’s acknowledgment of the flaws with Cloudflare’s firing process, and his plans to improve it moving forward, the incident represents a lack of empathy and respect for the employees on the company’s part. It became evident that their hasty staff reduction may have been for reasons beyond their performance. Pietsch’s case has sparked a debate on how companies handle terminations and the need for more humane and respectful practices. She deserves to work for a company that values her contribution and demonstrates a healthier, more direct line of communication between employers and employees.