MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Who is Jennifer Tejada? PagerDuty CEO apologize for quoting Martin Luther King Jr in 'tone deaf layoff letter

''Refinement'!! That's a layoff euphemism I don't hear often. Points for creativity at least...' said a social media user

SAN FRANSISCO, CALIFORNIA: PagerDuty CEO Jennifer Tejada ran into controversy after writing a bizarre, tone-deaf layoff letter to its employees. Tejada apologized for quoting civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr in an email that announced she was cutting 7% of its workforce. 

According to CBS News, Tejada wrote a 1,700 words long email that announced the layoff. The letter was sent out to the employees on Thursday, January 26. However, social media criticized the letter and the usage of Martin Luther King Jr's reference in the letter.

READ MORE 

What is the WARN law? Elon Musk's mass layoff at Twitter alleged to be illegal

THE CULL BEGINS: Liberals erupt after Elon Musk fires Twitter staff by 'locking them out of their laptops'

Who is Jennifer Tejada? 

Jennifer Tejada is the CEO of PagerDuty. She has completed her bachelor's in Business Management and Organizational Behaviour, as per her LinkedIn profile. While studying she was active in various spheres including the women' Golf Team, and extended her service as LSA Student Government Vice President. She has worked in different popular MNCs including as the Director of Procter and Gamble. She has worked for over four years as the VP of Global Marketing of i2 Technologies and served as a Board Member of Unicharm Australasia. Tejada has served as the Chief Marketing Officer at AAPT Ltd which is a Telecom company and in 2007, she moved to Merivale Group as their Chief Operating Officer. She has contributed to various organizations such as Cantada, Gizmo,oOh Media,Puppet Labs, Inc.The Estée Lauder Companies Inc, UiPath and Foundation 9 Entertainment as its board member. Tejada also handled the position of hief Strategy Officer, EVP Corporate Development, Product Management & Marketing at Mincom, which is an enterprise solution company. She was the President & CEO of Keynote Systems in 2015. From 2016 till now she is the Chief Executive Officer of PagerDuty which is a company that focuses on digital operations. 

What is the Martin Luther King Jr reference in the letter? 

The layoff letter was trolled across social media as it quoted Martin Luther King Jr, the letter stated, "None of this would be possible without you, our leadership, and our board — thank you for your grit and resilience, your commitment to our customers and your support of our values and people. I am reminded in moments like this, of something Martin Luther King said, that 'the ultimate measure of a [leader] is not where [they] stand in the moments of comfort and convenience, but where [they] stand in times of challenge and controversy.' PagerDuty is a leader that stands behind its customers, its values, and our vision — for an equitable world where we transform critical work so all teams can delight their customers and build trust." 

Did Jennifer Tejada apologize to Martin Luther King Jr reference? 

CEO of PagerDuty further issued an apology on Friday, January 27. It stated, "Team, This has been a difficult week for our company. For those of you who were not able to attend our town hall discussion today, I wanted to share what we discussed. The way I communicated layoffs distracted from our number one priority: showing care for the employees we laid off, and demonstrating the grace, respect, and appreciation they and all of you deserve." Further, it said, There are a number of things I would do differently if I could. The quote I included from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr was inappropriate and insensitive. I should have been more upfront about the layoffs in the email, more thoughtful about my tone, and more concise. I am sorry. Many of you have reached out to me this week with feedback, questions and support – thank you. Jenn." 

'This is truly terrible'

The Internet quickly reacted to the letter. A user said, "Even sadder that I would imagine a layoff letter like this in The Office and not in real life. Tone-deaf is an understatement." Another added, "Not that I'd be okay with receiving a layoff email from anywhere right now. If I received this one i would be beyond livid." A user added, "damn, this is truly terrible." Journalist Matthew Boyle wrote, "'Refinement'!! That's a layoff euphemism I don't hear often. Points for creativity at least..."  A user stated, "Totally disrespectful to quote MLK. She lacks compassion & emotional intelligence. BTW, what is her salary and what is she going to give back?."

Another claimed, "@pagerduty not your dumbass CEO using a MLK quote in the same font as she was laying people off… this is an entire low bar set for Jennifer Tejada! She couldn’t be any more tone deaf while maintains her dumb bitch status." "Worst CEO so far this year Jennifer Tejada @jenntejada for this missive "Improving @pagerduty Operational Resilience to Achieve our Long Term Vision and Goals" most unempathetic confused layoff message I've seen so far this year. @jbernoff dissects it," tweeted a user. A user added, "Hi @pagerduty it would be a good idea to look for a new CEO." Writer Gergely Orosz said, "The most tone-deaf layoff email I read so far was written yesterday, and it comes from PagerDuty CEO Jennifer Tejada. The email is vey long, and feels like it was written by an AI that took all the phrases that people usually say, and put it one long email. See for yourself."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.