Cloudflare employee's unexplained dismissal sparks online debate over company's HR practices

Brittany Pietsch, an employee at Cloudflare, captured a conversation in which she was informed of her termination. She was anticipating such an event, as employees had been called for short discussions throughout that day.

Pietsch [argued during the less than ten-minute conversation, asserting her view that her dismissal was unwarranted.] She endeavored to understand why she was fired after only four months of employment, during which two holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) had taken place.

She questioned whether her dismissal was due to Cloudflare hiring an excessive number of employees, subsequently leading to her loss of employment. She also wondered if her dismissal was arbitrary, as she was not provided with feedback or reason.

She received no answer to these questions. The woman emphasized that her superior did not express any criticism towards her work and questioned why her direct superiors were absent during the discussion.

"My manager was just as surprised as I was. You can hear in the conversation that the HR representative admits they cannot confirm what my manager said about my work. This basically acknowledged that they had no background of who I was or why they were firing me. My manager called me later, expressing disbelief at the situation." - As Brittany Pietsch posted on her LinkedIn profile.

In her LinkedIn post, Pietsch added that while reviewing various comments, she came across opinions suggesting that owing to her "laid-back employee" demeanor, she would struggle to find permanent employment.

"However, I would like to clarify something. Any organization who would choose not to hire me because I shared a video of how I got dismissed or because I inquired about the reasons for my dismissal, is not an organization where I would want to work. If I don't stand up for my rights and interests, who else will?" - Brittany Pietsch, summarising her situation.

Beneath her post, the young woman garnered supportive messages. The commenters praised her calm demeanor during the conversation and her bravery. They also pointed out that such layoffs seem to be a common cost-cutting procedure.

Cloudflare addressed the issue. Matthew Prince presented the company's view on the X portal. He explained that the company dismissed approximately 40 employees out of around 1,500 in the sales department. He added that often, three months is sufficient to determine whether an employee will be successful in their role at the company.

"Regrettably, we do not always hire perfectly. We aim for flawless dismissals. In this case, we were clearly far from perfect. Watching this video is difficult for me" - Prince wrote on the X portal.

He also noted that no employee should be surprised if they're underperforming. We don't always get it right. Sometimes, underperforming employees don't take note of the feedback they've received before their dismissal. Importantly, he mentioned that getting fired doesn't necessarily mean that they're a bad employee.