CEO shares list of employees laid off for cost cutting, draws fire on social media

Klarna Bank AB’s CEO Sebastian Siemitkowski drew criticism after he shared a contact list of former employees who were recently laid off by the firm.

New Delhi: Klarna Bank AB’s chief executive officer (CEO) Sebastian Siemitkowski drew criticism after he shared a contact list of former employees who were recently laid off by the company as part of a recent cost cutting exercise. In his post on the Microsoft-owned professional networking site LinkedIn, he shared a link to Google Sheet which had the list of the fired employees. 

“I personally have mixed feelings about this document,” Siemitkowski said in his LinkedIn post, adding, “While it symbolizes much of what I am proud of among Klarna’s employees, it is also a tangible symbol of a very hard decision that saddens me deeply and will stay with me for a long period of time.”

The initiative to set up a sheet for employees to find new jobs was taken by Klarna employee J. Tyler Wilson. “It’s a document where those affected by the changes can sign up to show their availability to recruiters,” Siemitkowski said in his post. However, it was the caption of the post that faced the most backlash on social media.

Responding to his post, several LinkedIn users pointed out that its "tone deaf" content to get recruiters' attention. Sweden's largest financial trade union, Finansforbundet, has reportedly requested Klarna to discuss the list's publication.

“Much like your post about Russia, this is tone deaf. Maybe Klarna should consider new leadership, not letting go of talented staff,” a user said. Several other users pointed out how putting the email IDs of the individuals could not be the right idea. Also Read: Higher EMIs, bank charges, insurance premiums: 7 BIG changes will impact your monthly budget

“I feel the exposure of thousands of email addresses in a public document is not so smart. I’d suggest to make the list available to recruiters that ask for it and not to the whole internet,” the LinkedIn user said. Also Read: Facebook's parent company to change stock ticker to META on June 9