With his contribution, he wanted to show people that not all managers are insensitive and don’t care if they have to fire people. “I know it’s unprofessional to tell my co-workers that I love them.” Wallake explains that he always hired people based on their personality. “People with big hearts and big souls.”
“Uncomfortable”
The post had received almost 33,000 reactions and around 6,800 comments as of Thursday night. However, LinkedIn users are divided on how to rate Wallake’s honesty. On the one hand, the CEO is being ridiculed: “The only reason these people cry is for fame,” writes one. Another wryly commented: “Oh poor baby…” Another comment simply says, “Shameful.”
On the other hand, there is praise for Wallake. “Thank you for being so vulnerable and open,” writes one user. Another user also thanks the CEO for opening up about him, adding, “I’ve always hated when managers don’t show any emotion.”
Wallake: Don’t pay me a salary
Some users wonder why Wallake fired the employees in the first place. He should cut his salary, then the employees could stay. However, the head of marketing said in an interview with “Vice” magazine that a salary is no longer paid. In total, on Tuesday there were two layoffs at his company, with one of them bringing the bad news himself.
His post was in response to other recent LinkedIn posts about “how horrible entrepreneurs and CEOs are laying off their employees while they buy their third home in the Bahamas or anywhere,” Wallake said. He has wanted to point out “that it is not only greedy and rich companies that are laying off employees, but that there are also normal people behind many of the layoffs.”
“Braden is being too honest on LinkedIn again”
One of Wallake’s employees who was fired also spoke out on LinkedIn after the incident. “I am now the man who was fired by the crying CEO,” Noah Smith wrote on Wednesday night. “After reading the post, my first thought was, ‘Yeah, there’s Braden, who’s being too honest on LinkedIn again.'” Now his feelings are a mixture of sadness and excitement.
He is saddened that “if you show yourself vulnerable online, you make yourself a target for people who want to attack someone,” Smith wrote of the critical comments on Wallake’s post. “Isn’t there a better way to start the day than searching LinkedIn for people to bump into?” she asks.
At the same time, the publication also had positive consequences: many people had contacted him to offer help. “I’m looking forward to what’s next,” Smith said. Apparently, CEO Wallake also wants to help him find a new job: he advertised his former employee on LinkedIn.
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