US-based entrepreneur Matthew Baltzell ignited controversy when he posted a smiling photo of himself and informed that he had fired one of his employees. The CEO’s LinkedIn post detailing his decision to terminate his first employee received widespread criticism. Baltzell described the termination process in four parts. In his LinkedIn post, the CEO highlighted how he kept the meeting short and direct, provided one week’s pay per year of service and was honest throughout the process. Despite claiming that the employee handled the situation professionally, Baltzell faced backlash on social media for what many perceived as insensitivity, both in his approach and in the choice of photo accompanying his announcement.
Baltzell wrote, “I fired my first employee. Here’s what I learned. Handling an employee’s exit can either strengthen or weaken your company culture. Here’s how it went down: 10 minute meeting: Kept it short and direct, Severance package: Gave one week’s pay for each year of work, Recommendation: Offered to provide a future job reference and Transparency: Stayed clear and honest.”
“After the meeting, I sent a message over Slack to inform everyone that the employee was no longer with us, without giving details. Gossip doesn’t help anyone. I provided the ex-employee’s contact info to the team and encouraged them to reach out if they wished. This avoids any secrecy. This approach shows my team that if they ever have to leave, they’ll be treated with respect, not discarded like trash. In the end, the ex-employee handled it professionally and with grace. Next time, I’ll have a structured outline to guide the conversation better,” the CEO explained.
Reacting to the post, a user wrote, “You just made someone’s exit incredibly problematic for yourself. I would NEVER work for an individual that was so INSECURE about his own leadership that he had to share the semantics in his first firing experience. Grow up. Leaders don’t behave this way.”
Another shared, “Once you do it a hundred times you won’t smile for the pic. Don’t feel so proud.”
“You handled this exactly how it should be handled which speaks to your leadership skills Matthew. I have witnessed a TON of bad exits over the years,” a comment read.
Another wrote, “Maintaining a positive company culture even during challenging times is what defines great leadership.”
An individual criticised the CEO and shared, “Imagine being the fired employee, logging onto here and seeing your boss make a post like this about you. If that wasn’t bad enough there’s an accompanying photo of him SMILING about it.”
One more added, “This is exceptionally cringe, even by LinkedIn’s high-cringe standards.”
Matthew Baltzell is the CEO of Cap X Media, a company dedicated to assisting real estate investors in building their brands and raising capital through digital media strategies.
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