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 – and who can't even give you a good reason why.
A woman shared a video of herself being fired by a man she's never met during a Zoom call.
In her video, Brittany Pietsch, an account executive at a website security company called Cloudflare, explained how her colleagues had been receiving random 15-minute call invitations throughout the day and her best friend from work told her that she had been fired during hers.
Thirty minutes later, Pietsch received her invitation and pressed “record” on her phone to document the discharge meeting. When she connected to the Zoom call, she expected the terrible news but was prepared.
On the call, Pietsch encountered two unfamiliar faces, a woman named Rosie from human resources and a man named Dom, who Pietsch claimed was a director she had never heard of before.
Dom explained that after completing her performance reviews in 2023, she did not meet Cloudfare's performance expectations and they would be fired.
Pietsch defended her work and asked for an explanation.
Pietsch, who had only worked for Cloudflare for less than five months, including three months of training, immediately interrupted Dom to contradict him. During her employment, she stated that she closed and managed three deals, that her team had the highest activity, and that she consistently received nothing but positive feedback from her manager.
“I wanted to stand up for myself because what did I have to lose?” said Pietsch.
Pietsch further explained that she took on the responsibility of her role fairly quickly and believed that everything went really well. She expressed confusion that she was fired by two people she had never met, rather than her own manager or director.
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“I don’t think I didn’t meet the performance expectations, although I definitely met them,” Pietsch reiterated during the phone call. “I’m just definitely confused and would appreciate a meaningful explanation.”
Dom repeated the same vague explanation several times, claiming he could not provide details about why Pietsch had failed to meet performance expectations.
Nevertheless, Pietsch remained stubborn. She continued to ask why they couldn't share this information with her. She gave Dom and Rosie several opportunities to provide a solid explanation for her termination, but they refused to provide any plausible details.
“I don't think Dom or I are going to give you any clarity or answers today that match the expectations you're telling us,” Rosie stated flatly.
While Rosie and Dom Pietsch stated that their frustration and questions were understandable and legitimate, they continued to contradict each other by dodging Pietsch's questions and responding with indirect and vague answers.
In a statement, Rosie seemed to have reached a compromise solution, explaining that she would be happy to contact Pietsch after the call to share her performance data – although it seems strange for a company to explain reasons for the termination after termination. However, Rosie retreated to her non-negotiable position, claiming she couldn't make any promises and would have to ask the revenue management team if she could share this information.
Despite Pietsch's unwavering determination to get answers, Rosie and Dom seemed reluctant to reveal the details of their termination during their call, but their poor manner and lack of empathy sparked a debate online about termination etiquette.
Pietsch was terminated for seemingly no reason, and she's not the only one upset about this impending dispute.
Despite Pietsch's claims that she had achieved her position to the best of her abilities and received only positive feedback, she received no warnings or opportunities to make amends for her so-called poor performance and was instead immediately terminated.
In fact, Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince claimed in a recent earnings call that Cloudflare often replaces its underperforming employees with new, fresh talent who are better able to succeed in the position.
In response to Pietsch's video, Prince posted a response to He also explained that Cloudflare determines whether sales reps will be successful or not in three months or less.
“It must be very easy for you to just have these 10-minute, 15-minute meetings, tell someone they're fired, their whole life is completely ruined, and then it's all without explanation. “This is extremely traumatic for people, if you can imagine it,” said Pietsch. “I've really put all of my energy and life into this job for the last four months, and to be fired for no reason is like a huge slap in the face from a company I really wanted to believe in.”
Due to the number of employees who were also laid off and the lack of communication about layoffs, it is obvious that Cloudflare's hasty staff cuts could be due to reasons beyond their performance.
A human resources consultant named Molly responded to Pietsch's video on TikTok and expressed her opinion about the termination.
Molly explained that it makes sense for a company to fire employees based on an overall employee performance review. However, she was surprised that Dom specifically said Pietsch's firing was due to her individual performance, which she described as termination for cause. This means that an employee has violated company policy in some way and engaged in improper conduct, such as theft, misconduct, or fraud.
She explained how people who have been laid off or laid off can receive unemployment benefits, but some terminations for cause may be denied this benefit. Cloudflare may have intentionally fired its employees based on their poor performance in order to deprive them of unemployment benefits.
Molly criticized Pietsch's entire firing experience as impersonal and lacking empathy.
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“It's not a good sign if, in the middle of a discharge interview you're conducting, the person still doesn't know why they're being fired,” Molly said. “And remember, at the beginning they said it was for their gig. When you say that to someone, you expect them to ask you, “What about their performance?”
Pietsch's video has sparked widespread debate about companies like Cloudflare that simply fire employees without much or no explanation.
Even Prince agreed that her video was “painful to watch.” He acknowledged the flaws in Cloudflare's triggering process and claimed that he wanted to improve it in the future. He justified Cloudflare's quarterly layoffs by saying that employees who are “unlikely to succeed outside of the team” will find a more suitable position elsewhere.
Nothing feels more disheartening than being fired from a job that you put everything into and for which there is no explanation other than failing to meet performance expectations. It's bad enough that someone has to be fired, let alone held responsible, after putting so much effort and dedication into their role.
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It's definitely not easy to fire someone from a company, but those in charge need to make sure they take the employee's feelings and needs into account. They must be willing to answer questions and express compassion in a way that evokes compassion and understanding. Although Rosie and Dom were only allowed to reveal limited information about the layoffs, their dismissal was a sign of a company with little humanity and respect for its employees.
While it's unfortunate that Pietsch was fired from a job she was dedicated to, she deserves to work for a company that respects her value and demonstrates a healthy, direct line of communication.
Francesca Duarte is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team based in Orlando, FL. It covers topics in the areas of lifestyle, human interest and spirituality.