An American CEO faced backlash on social media for his LinkedIn post detailing the firing of an employee. Matthew Baltzell, CEO of Cap X Media, shared a summary of his brief meeting with the employee, explaining that he informed the individual of their layoff in just 10 minutes.
Baltzell mentioned offering the ex-employee a severance package and a reference for future job opportunities. He described the interaction as “short and direct,” with the employee handling the news “professionally and with grace.”
Baltzell also mentioned that he notified the team about the employee’s departure over Slack, without disclosing specific details, to maintain transparency and respect. While some praised Baltzell’s approach, others criticized it as tone-deaf and insensitive.
One commenter on LinkedIn dismissed the post as “typical LinkedIn drivel,” while another urged the CEO to “grow up.”
A screenshot of the post also reached X, where it was shared with the caption: “Imagine getting fired, heading over to LinkedIn, and seeing this.”
Imagine getting fired, heading over to LinkedIn, and seeing this pic.twitter.com/J14jOGEz4u
— Rob Freund (@RobertFreundLaw) June 17, 2024
The post’s screenshot circulated on X, where it was met with negative reactions. Many criticized the CEO for potentially making the employee’s exit more challenging and compared his actions to those of a Hypersocial CEO who went viral in 2022 for posting a selfie crying after laying off hundreds of employees.
Netizens React:
Several users expressed disbelief at the CEO’s decision to publicize the firing, with one founder stating, “If I’ve fired someone, the last thing I want to do is post about it on social media.”
Another commenter emphasized, “This is horrifying. A real leader doesn’t need to brag about how good of a job they thought they did in firing someone.”