'My first ... ': American CEO faces backlash for social media post on firing employee

NEW DELHI: Matthew Baltzell, the founder and CEO of Cap X Media, has faced significant backlash online following a LinkedIn post where he detailed the firing of an employee. The post, shared last week, described a brief 10-minute meeting in which the employee was informed of their termination. The post has since sparked widespread outrage and criticism on social media, with many branding it as insensitive and tone-deaf.
In his post, Baltzell described how the meeting was kept “short and direct” and mentioned that the employee was offered a severance package and a reference for future employment.He praised the former employee for handling the news “professionally and with grace.”
After the meeting, Baltzell sent a message over communication software Slack to notify the team about the departure, emphasizing that he wanted to avoid any secrecy surrounding the layoff. He claimed that his approach was meant to show his team that if they ever had to leave, they would be treated with respect.
The post received mixed reactions on LinkedIn. While some individuals commended Baltzell for his straightforwardness, others criticized the post as being out of touch.
One commenter labeled it as “typical LinkedIn drivel,” while another suggested that the CEO should “grow up,” pointing out that publicizing such matters could create more problems.
The backlash intensified when a screenshot of the post was shared on X, accompanied by the caption: “Imagine getting fired, heading over to LinkedIn, and seeing this.” The reactions on X were overwhelmingly negative, drawing parallels to a similar incident in 2022 where the CEO of Hypersocial posted a selfie of himself crying after laying off hundreds of employees, which also went viral.
Critics on X highlighted that publicizing the firing on social media was inappropriate. One founder expressed that if they ever had to fire someone, the last thing they would want to do is post about it online. Another comment stressed that true leadership does not require boasting about how well one handled the firing of an employee, calling Baltzell’s post “horrifying.”