Stripe laid off about 300 people this week, and the payment technology company seems to have made a real blunder in executing the layoffs. Business Insider reports that employees affected by layoffs received a PDF image of a duck in their emails, as well as a termination date that was incorrect.
A Stripe spokesperson confirmed the flub to Business Insider and said a follow-up email corrected the error. Stripe says it still plans to grow its headcount this year to reach 10,000.
On Blind, a discussion forum where tech industry employees can talk anonymously, Stripe staffers joked that someone should quickly make a custom duck emoji in the company’s Slack.
The tech industry has undergone unprecedented layoffs in recent years after nearly two decades of growth, and mass layoffs — necessitated by extreme overhiring during the pandemic — have not always been implemented well. A common occurrence is that employees wake up to find their work devices simply won’t turn on, or arrive at the office and try to badge, only to see their the access key does not work. Sometimes the information is incorrect delivered to affected employeesor e-mail dismissals are sent to work accounts as employees are cut off from accessing them.
The CEO of Better.com received intense heat and took a leave of absence after him fired 900 people on Zooma call during which he accused the affected employees of “stealing” by not working enough. PagerDuty’s CEO quoted Martin Luther King Jr. in his email dismissal of personnel.
In general, power has shifted from tech workers to employers since a series of mass layoffs began at the end of 2022. Employees can no longer protest their companies signing contracts with the Pentagon, or fight for DEI and other initiatives. For all but the best, the job market in technology is no longer that great, and the management’s disregard for employee concerns is evident.
Patrick Collison, CEO of Stripe it took tremendous heat at the end of 2024 on a post that he shared on X of him in a race in Tel Aviv, saying that it was “great to be back”. Ireland, where Collison is from and Stripe maintains offices, has been a vocal critic of Israel during its war on Gaza. His company remains strong, which Stripe has gained a rating more than $70 billion.
Great to be back in Tel Aviv. I missed this race. pic.twitter.com/xc4LP1MkQm
– Patrick Collison (@patrickc) November 27, 2024
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2025-01-22 00:50:00
