A US-based CEO of a marketplace for musical instruments faced heavy backlash after firing 99 employees for missing a meeting. The incident gained traction when an intern posted a screenshot of the CEO’s expletive-filled Slack message on Reddit, sparking widespread discussion.
The Reddit user, who had just joined the company as an intern, claimed he was terminated within an hour of starting. In a post on Reddit’s Recruiting Hell forum, he shared a screenshot of the CEO’s angry message, revealing that 99 out of the company’s 111 employees were fired in one go.
In the Slack message, the CEO, identified as Baldvin, introduced himself before expressing his frustration with the employees’ lack of attendance at the meeting.
“For those of you who did not show up to the meeting this morning, consider this your official notice: you’re all fired,” he wrote.
He accused the absent employees of breaching their agreements. “You failed to do what you agreed to, you failed to complete your part of the contract, and you failed to show up to the meetings you were supposed to attend and work for,” the message read.
The CEO instructed the terminated staff to return any company property, log out of all accounts, and leave the Slack workspace immediately.
Baldvin criticized the fired employees for not taking the job seriously and highlighted the opportunity they missed.
“I gave you an opportunity to make your life better, to work hard, and to grow. Yet, you have shown me that you don’t take this seriously,” he wrote.
He noted that only 11 out of 110 employees attended the meeting, adding, “Those 11 get to stay. The rest of you are terminated.” Baldvin ended his message with a blunt directive: “Get the f*** out of my business right now.”
Angry CEO fires 99 out of 110 employees through Slack message.
byu/cupholdery inrecruitinghell
The message quickly went viral, leading to heated discussions on Reddit. Users on the Recruiting Hell forum questioned the circumstances surrounding the meeting and the CEO’s actions.
“I assume the CEO failed to inform the team about that meeting. I can not believe that 99 people will fail to attend a meeting if they got informed,” one user wrote.
Another wondered about the meeting details: “What kind of meeting was this that most employees missed anyway? Did he send a last-minute invite or something? Otherwise, I find it hard to believe 99 people just didn’t show up.”
Some users speculated that the mass firing was a cover for deeper issues. “I sense there’s something else going on. You don’t fire 90% of your staff for missing a meeting. You create a fireable situation so you can get rid of them without warning because there is a massive financial problem,” a commenter theorized.
While the situation seemed strange to many, the CEO was heavily criticized for his handling of the issue. Many Reddit users agreed the decision and the manner in which it was communicated were both unprofessional and extreme.
