LinkedIn influencer faces outrage over post about firing employee

The viral post has sparked controversy on social media as users dubbed it as insensitive.

Jun 21, 2024 - 07:30

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LinkedIn influencer faces outrage over post about firing employee

LinkedIn (LNKD) , the home of finding jobs and networking, has grown to become the next victim of influencer culture as the social media platform has attracted a new wave of influencers who post their insights about different workplace practices and cultures – with some even earning thousands of dollars for each post.

While LinkedIn posts made by influencers are often well-received, some can backfire miserably.

A recent post submitted on LinkedIn by influencer Matthew Baltzell, who is founder of Cap X Media, has become the source of outrage on social media over the past few days. In the post, Baltzell shares four things he learned while firing his first employee. He claims that when he fired the employee, he kept the meeting “short and direct,” he provided them with severance, a recommendation and learned to be transparent with other employees about the harsh decision.

“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,” wrote Baltzell in the post.

While some social media users took issue with him sharing details about a person’s firing on LinkedIn, what initially sparked controversy was the photo that he attached to the post, which was a selfie of himself smiling.

The post went viral on social media platforms Threads and X as users blasted the post for being insensitive toward the person who was fired.

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