Carta's Poor Layoff Message
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A discussion about how Carta's CEO Henry Ward communicated recent layoffs in a public message.
"Carta laid off a bunch of people the other day - like 167 people. Their CEO Henry wrote this public message saying something like 'it was not your manager's fault for laying you off, it was 100% my fault. In fact, it was the opposite - your managers tried to help you and I'm the one who reviewed every list and said we're going to fire this person.'
While they did some good things like extending COBRA health insurance till the end of the year, investing people's shares, giving severance, and creating an alumni network to help people get jobs - the actual communication was problematic. He started by saying 'I apologize if I sound robotic, I'm reading off a script because I don't know if I can get through this without something to lean on.'
The message came across as tone-deaf and seemed like he was trying to pat himself on the back for his leadership during a difficult time rather than focusing on the affected employees. While Carta is generally doing good work and taking necessary risks as a company, this particular communication approach was mishandled."
Sam Parr
Host of MFM and fitness influencer
Sam Parr is a serial entrepreneur and business media pioneer.
In 2016, he founded The Hustle, a business news media company that started in his kitchen with just $12 and grew to eight figures in revenue.
Sam led the charge in making newsletters popular when few believed in their potential.
After four successful years, he sold The Hustle to HubSpot, a publicly traded company. Now operating as HubSpot Media, The Hustle reaches 3 million readers daily, employs a team of nearly 100, and has been the launchpad for dozens of its staff to found their own media companies and newsletters.
Sam remains the host of the popular business podcast, My First Million, and continues to start and sell companies. He also co-founded Hampton, a highly vetted community for entrepreneurs, founders, and CEOs, and teaches people to write better through his platform, Copy That.