A woman has sparked debate after secretly recording a nine-minute video of herself being fired from her job.
Brittany Pietsch shared a video on TikTok on January 12 to document how she was laid off from her job at Cloudflare, a cybersecurity and network security company. At the beginning of the nine-minute video, she noted that she had a feeling the conversation was getting closer, as her “coworkers [had] I’ve been getting random 15-minute calls all day.” She also stated that her close friend from work had been fired “30 minutes” before she began recording that call.
She went on to note, in the text above the video, that she had about “10 minutes to pull herself together,” before it was her turn to be fired. The video then continued with two people from Cloudare's HR team introducing themselves to Pietsch.
“I was fired by two people I didn't know: a woman from Human Resources and a manager I had never heard of,” Pietsch wrote. “I wanted to defend myself because what did I have to lose?”
After one of the HR workers told Pietsch that after finishing “2023 performance reviews,” they added that he “had not met Cloudflare's performance expectations” and the company was deciding to “part ways.” ” her.
The woman then interrupted the human resources worker by describing some of the hard work she has done for Cloudflare since she was hired.
“So, I started on August 25, I was on a three-month ramp and then it was three weeks in December,” he said, since a sales ramp measures how long it takes a new employee to reach full productivity. “And then a week after Christmas and here we are. I have had the most activity among my team,” he said.
Pietsch also claimed that during every one-on-one conversation with his boss, he would tell him that he was “doing a great job.” From there, he continued to respond to her claim that she was being fired due to her job performance.
“I've had great activity, I have really wonderful meetings, I'm getting products very quickly and things have been going very, very well, I have excellent relationships with my customers,” he said. “So I don't agree that my performance has not met performance expectations, when I certainly have.”
She then asked why her manager wasn't the one to make that call, claiming her manager “had no idea” she was being fired. Pietsch again asked for an explanation as to why she was being let go, before the human resources director told her she would “follow up separately” with a response. When Pietsch asked if she could get that answer during the call, the human resources manager denied the request.
Pietsch's video went on to tell human resources workers that he saw the call coming, after learning how “extremely frustrated and upset” his co-workers were after they were fired. He then criticized HR workers for how they were supposedly laying off employees.
“I know you guys shouldn't be able to understand that,” he said, referring to his former coworkers' frustrations over the situation. “It must be very easy for you to have these little 10 and 15 minute meetings. Telling someone they're fired completely ruins their entire life and that's it without explanation. “This is extremely traumatic for people, if you can imagine.”
He stressed that the dismissal was “very, very shocking”, since he delivered “[her] all energy and life to work.” After noting that her being fired without cause was “a slap in the face,” one of the Human Resources workers said that while she understood Pietsch's feelings, she could not provide an explanation for the firing.
“I'll be honest with you, there's nothing we're going to say on this call in the time we have that is going to undo the way you feel good right now,” the HR worker said. “I will personally do everything I can to give you as much specific information as possible after this call.”
Pietsch reflected once again on the “constant praise” from her managers and “the great meetings” she had, to address her confusion about why she was being fired. The human resources worker stated that, while she could not speak to what Pietsch's manager had previously said, she simply said that she was “being terminated for poor performance based on [her] achievements and main data indicators”.
The TikTok user then asked for an explanation of those “performance metrics,” before HR workers said they couldn't go into details. Then he asked them if they were really aware of why they fired people.
“Do they even know who they talk to every day? Every 10 or 15 minutes,” she said. “Like why are you letting these people go. “When you don't even understand that kind of job and everything they say… It just doesn't make any sense that they still haven't been able to give me a reason why they're letting me go.”
The video concluded with the human resources managers reiterating that there was “nothing they could say” that would change Pietsch's feelings, before she agreed to move forward with the next steps of the termination process.
Pietsch's video has quickly gone viral on social media and has received more than 22.8 million views. when published in X, formerly known as Twitter. In the comments of the video on TikTok, many people praised Pietsch for posting the call and defending himself during it. They also criticized Cloudflare for the way they fired her.
“SO proud of you! Firing someone because of her poor performance and not being able to cite any performance metrics is nonsense,” one wrote.
“You were very calm and respectful. I think HR everywhere is clueless and I don't know how they live with themselves,” wrote another.
A third added: “You did very well in an impossible conversation/situation. His vague corporate jargon drove me crazy. I hope you find the employer you deserve!
On the other hand, some people at X had a different view of the situation, as they questioned Pietsch for deciding to share the phone call publicly.
“This is disgusting to see. Strangely voyeuristic. Some conversations should be private,” one wrote, while another added: “The points she raised were valid, but it's a bad professional move to post this online…”
“Being fired is hard, but it's important to face it with dignity,” added another. “Firing someone is also difficult and requires compassion and respect. A total disaster here for both sides.”
After Pietsch's video went viral, Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince led to to discuss the layoff, noting that his company laid off “40 salespeople out of more than 1,500” during its last quarter.
“When we do performance management right, we can often tell within 3 months or less of hiring a salesperson, even during the holidays, whether they will be successful or not,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, we don't hire perfectly.”
He then specified that watching Pietsch's video was “painful” for him and noted that “managers should always participate” in the process of firing their employees.
“HR. should be involved, but should not be outsourced to them. No employee should be surprised by his poor performance. “We don’t always get it right,” she wrote. “And sometimes low-performing employees don't listen to the feedback they received before we fired them.”
Prince concluded the post by expressing his regret over how Pietsch's firing was handled, writing, “We were definitely nowhere near perfect on this one. But any healthy organization needs to capitalize on people who aren't performing well. That wasn't the mistake here. The mistake was not being more kind and humane as we did.”
The independent Pietsch and a Cloudflare representative have been contacted for comment.
