They often receive ridicule and hatred on social media. People film themselves crying. Brittany Beach goes one step further and allows her fans to share how she is experiencing “trauma.”

It's scenes like this that (should) make HR managers shake their heads. Termination discussions that start poorly, contain little information and end in emotional disaster. They are the ones who should be kept private, behind closed doors, and eventually forgotten. Not so for Brittany Beach, who joined her TikTok community via video.

The video, which has been viewed millions of times, shows one thing in particular: a desperate young employee wanting to vent her frustration. Angry at the anonymous managers who announced her resignation, she interrupted them several times. I already suspected where the conversation would lead. It is an obsession that lies behind the recruitment method that can be rightly criticized. Mass layoffs are often reported at US technology companies. Just like with her former employer Cloudflare.

A complaint you would like to highlight publicly. She also lost her job after just three months. According to her, she did not receive any “negative or fruitful reactions” in the meantime. She asks several times the specific reason for her termination – without receiving a (satisfactory) answer.

What's particularly notable about the short, nine-minute clip is her subtle way of commentating. This gives viewers an accurate sense of how Brittany felt in the situation. Unlike their interlocutors. So she started a TikTok video with the subtitle “Enjoy the Shock,” complaining about having to have a conversation with two unknown people, and finally: about being treated unfairly.

The CEO admits mistakes

Most employees were already in the uncomfortable position of being fired. Perhaps this is also the reason why the protagonist is given sympathy and support. This commitment is prompting Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince to take a stand.

At X-Posting, he didn't talk about a wave of layoffs, but rather a “normal quarter.” The reaction from Beach — and HR managers — was less than usual. “Unfortunately, we don't hire perfectly. We try to cancel perfectly. And in this case, we were clearly far from perfect. Watching the video is painful for me,” he admits.

After its release, the video went viral. Pietsch also commented on this on recruitment platform LinkedIn. It can be assumed that she is looking for a new employer there. However, it remains to be seen who is willing to take responsibility for the potential additional (public) “shock.” (air)