If you think getting fired is the worst thing that can happen to you at work, imagine being fired by someone you've never met before — and they can't even give you a good reason for it.
One woman shared a video of herself getting kicked out during a Zoom call by a man she's never met.
In her video, Brittany Beachan account manager at a website security company called Cloudflare, explained how all of her coworkers were getting random 15-minute call invitations throughout the day, and her best friend from work told her she was getting laid off while she was working.
After 30 minutes, Beach received her invitation and recorded on her phone documenting the discharge meeting. As she connected to the Zoom call, she expected the terrible news, but she was prepared.
On the call, Beach was met by two unfamiliar faces, a woman named Rosie from HR and a man named Dom, who Beach claimed was a director she had never heard of before.
Dom explained how after completing the 2023 performance evaluations, she did not meet Cloudfare's expectations for performance and would be let go.
Beach defended her action and asked for clarification.
Beach, who had only worked at Cloudflare for less than five months, three of which included training, immediately interrupted Dom to express his disapproval. During her employment, she claimed to have closed and managed three deals, had the highest activity on her team, and received nothing but positive feedback from her manager.
“I wanted to stand up for myself because what did I have to lose?” Beach said.
Beach also explained how she grasped the responsibilities of her role very quickly and thought everything was going well. She expressed confusion about being laid off by two people she had never met before, rather than her boss or manager.
“I do not agree that I did not meet performance expectations, when I certainly did,” Beach emphasized during the call. “I'm definitely confused, and I want a logical explanation.”
Dom repeated the same vague explanation several times, claiming that he could not reveal any details about why Beach was not meeting performance expectations.
However, Beach insisted. She continued to wonder why they couldn't share this information with her. She gave Dom and Rosie multiple opportunities to provide a valid explanation for her termination, but they refused to reveal any reasonable details.
“I don't think Dom or I will give you any clarification or answers today that meet the expectations you're communicating with us,” Rosie said emphatically.
While Rosie and Dom told Peach that her frustration and questions were understandable and valid, they continued to contradict themselves by avoiding Peach's questions, and responding with indirect and vague answers.
In one statement, Rosie appeared to have found a middle ground, saying she would be happy to continue with Petsch after Invitation to share its performance data – although it seems strange for the company to explain the reasons for termination after said termination. However, Rosie backed away from her non-negotiable position, claiming that she could make no promises and would need to ask the revenue management team if she could share this information.
Aside from Peach's unwavering insistence for answers, Rosie and Dom seemed forbidden from sharing the details of her termination during their call, but their poor delivery and lack of empathy. It sparked controversy online Regarding termination etiquette.
Beach was apparently terminated without cause, and she's not the only one upset about this unexpected conflict.
Despite Beach's claims that she achieved her position to the best of her abilities with nothing but positive feedback along the way, she received no warnings or opportunities to redeem her so-called low performance and was instead terminated immediately.
In fact, during a Recent earnings callMatthew Prince, CEO of Cloudflare, claimed that Cloudflare often rotates its underperforming employees with new talent who could succeed better in the role.
In response to Beach's video, Prince posted a response to X explaining that about 40 of the 1,500 salespeople had been fired, which he described as a “normal quarter.” He additionally stated that Cloudflare determines whether or not sales hires will be successful within three months or less.
“It should be very easy for you to just have these meetings for 10 minutes or 15 minutes, tell someone they're fired, ruin their entire life, and then that's it with no explanation,” Beach expressed. For people, if you can imagine that.” “I have truly given all my energy and life over the last four months to this job, and to be let go for no reason is a huge slap in the face from a company I really wanted to believe in.”
Given the number of employees who were also let go and no layoffs reported, it's clear that Cloudflare's hasty headcount reduction may have been for reasons beyond their performance.
An HR consultant named Molly reacted to Pietsch's TikTok video to offer her opinion on the termination.
sire Explain that it is reasonable for a company to let employees go because of a comprehensive review of employee performance. However, it was traced back to Dom specifically saying that Beach's layoff was due to her solo performance, which she described as a termination for cause. This means that the employee has defied company policy in some way, regarding disorderly conduct, such as theft, misconduct or fraud.
She explained how those who have been laid off or fired can receive unemployment benefits, but some terminations for cause can be denied these benefits. Cloudflare may have intentionally blamed its employees for their low performance so they could avoid giving them any unemployment benefits.
Molly criticized Beach's overall layoff experience as impersonal and lacking in empathy.
“It's not a good sign if you're in the middle of a layoff meeting that you're leading, and the person still doesn't know why they were laid off,” Molly expressed. “And remember at the beginning they said it was because of her performance. If you're going to say that to someone, expect them to ask you, 'What about his performance?'
Pietsch's video sparked widespread debate about companies like Cloudflare easily letting go of employees without any explanation.
Prince even agreed that her video was “painful to watch.” He acknowledged flaws in Cloudflare's launch process, which he claimed he plans to improve moving forward. He justified quarterly layoffs at Cloudflare by explaining how employees who are “unlikely to succeed outside of the team” will find a more suitable position elsewhere.
There's nothing more frustrating than leaving a job where you did your best, with no explanation other than failure to meet performance expectations. It's bad enough for someone to be fired, let alone blamed after putting so much effort and dedication into their role.
It is certainly not easy to fire someone from a company, but those responsible for doing so must ensure that they take into account the employee's feelings and needs. They must be prepared to answer questions and offer empathy in a way that elicits empathy and understanding. Rosie and Dom may have been limited in what they could disclose about their firings, but their layoffs demonstrate that the company has little humanity and respect for its employees.
Although it is unfortunate for Pietsch to be let go from the job to which she was dedicated, she deserves to work for a company that will consider her value and demonstrate a healthy, direct line of communication.
Francesca Duarte is a writer on the YourTango News and Entertainment team based in Orlando, Florida. They cover lifestyle topics, human concerns, and spirituality.
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