Considering the steady stream of layoffs coursing through the tech industry, it’s understandable that some CEOs want to take extra care when informi

PagerDuty CEO Quotes Martin Luther King Jr. in Worst Layoff Email Ever

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2023-01-27 18:30:16

Considering the steady stream of layoffs coursing through the tech industry, it’s understandable that some CEOs want to take extra care when informing employees that their company will also be cutting jobs. However, calling layoffs “refinements” and quoting Martin Luther King Jr. is not the way to go.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what PagerDuty CEO Jennifer Tejada did earlier this week, prompting shock and ridicule on social media. In a 1,669-word email to employees, Tejada echoed the script many tech CEOs have recited in recent months, stating that today’s “volatile economy requires additional transformation” by the company. As a result, PagerDuty would be “refining” its operating model by cutting about 7% of its staff globally.

That wasn’t the only “refinement” the company would undertake, though. According to Tejada, PagerDuty will reduce its discretionary spend, negotiate “more favorable commercial agreements with key vendors,” and “rationalize [its] real estate footprint.”