The CEO of San Francisco-based cloud computing company PagerDuty has come under fire after posting an inspirational quote from black civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. and firing her colleagues.
Jennifer Tejada was criticized for her insensitivity on social media after sending an email to employees announcing layoffs that included the quote.
In the email, Tejada announced the company would “refine” its business structure by shedding 7 percent of its global workforce.
“We expect to end the year strong – indeed today we confirmed our FY23 guidance – and these results, combined with the refinements outlined above, place PagerDuty in a position of strength to successfully execute on our platform strategy.” , regardless of what happens market and the macro environment entail,’ Tejada said.
PagerDuty CEO Jennifer Tejada, who runs a cloud computing company, was criticized on social media for sending an email announcing layoffs while citing MLK
CEO, Jennifer Tejada, ended her email to employees announcing layoffs with a quote from a sermon by King that was later included in the 1959 book The Measure of a Man
“In moments like this I am reminded of something Martin Luther King said that ‘the ultimate measure of a [leader] is not where [they] Stand in the moments of comfort and convenience, but where [they] stand in times of challenge and controversy,” Tejada wrote.
Tejada’s communications alternated between corporate language such as labeling the layoffs as “refinements” and upbeat comments about the “highly talented individuals bringing #BringThemselves” to work, following a string of tech layoffs that have been criticized for a lack of compassion and humanity .
The 7 percent “refinement” refers to the company laying off 66 of the 950 people it employed a year ago.
Reaction to the email’s use of the quote was thoughtful and swift, with one Twitter user calling it “the most deaf dismissal email” he’d ever seen.
“The most tongue-in-cheek dismissal email I’ve read…comes from PagerDuty CEO Jennifer Tejada. The email is very long and feels like it was written by an AI that packed all the phrases people usually say into one long email,” wrote Gergely Orosz.
“All time classic bad resignation: PagerDuty CEO starts with ‘Hi Dutonians’, takes 370 words to get to the resignation part, continues with another *1250 words* and ends with ‘I am reminded of something in moments like these Martin Luther King said…” said Tom Gara
A Twitter user posted a screenshot of a Google search showing Tejada’s annual salary was $13.2 million
“Has Pagerduty seriously decided it’s a good idea to quote MLK in a press release saying they are laying off 7% of their workforce?” asked Pete Cheslock.
“Perhaps you won’t quote MLK if you lay off 7% of your workforce?” suggested Noah Chestnut.
“Has Pagerduty seriously decided it’s a good idea to quote MLK in a press release saying they are laying off 7% of their workforce?” asked Pete Cheslock.
“Perhaps you won’t quote MLK if you lay off 7% of your workforce?” suggested Noah Chestnut.
“All time classic bad resignation: PagerDuty CEO starts with ‘Hi Dutonians’, takes 370 words to get to the resignation part, continues with another *1250 words* and ends with ‘I am reminded of something in moments like these Martin Luther King said…” said Tom Gara.
Tejada’s annual salary of $13.2 million was also mentioned by some social media users.
The company previously reported revenue of $94.2 million for the most recent quarter and a net loss of $32.8 million.
Twitter users’ disbelief continued as they noted the contradiction in the tone of Tejada’s email and MLK’s values.
Twitter users’ disbelief continued as they noted the contradiction in the tone of Tejada’s email and MLK’s values.
‘Next time fire people via Twitter and save even more time!’ suggested Paula Des.
“Oh how inspirational and PC-like layoffs, classic millennial deaf email,” Trent Zent sneered.
“Are you the lady who really never had to quote MLK while laying off seven percent of your employees? I’m just curious as to why nobody said to you, ‘Hey Jen, I’d lose the MLK quote. The hundreds of people you just fired probably won’t appreciate it, or you. U tone deaf bonhead,” advised Keyser McSoze.
“Oh my god, are you the woman who compromised on MLK’s vision of leadership to fire a bunch of your employees? Thank you for your courage and leadership! MLK would definitely have gone for profit over PPL too,” sneered Gabriel Kahn.