A boss fires 90% of the workforce because they don’t show up at a meeting. This causes a lot of criticism of the CEO. But he explains that the decision was the right one: the company is doing better today than ever before and the attempt to “cancel” him completely backfired.
The head of a company that sells musical instruments on an online platform laid off most of his workforce. The reason for this: You didn’t show up for a meeting he had scheduled at short notice.
He later claims the layoffs were a justified decision and that his company is “stronger than ever.” He doesn’t regret the step for a minute.
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One missed meeting results in dozens of layoffs
What exactly happened? Baldvin Oddsson, CEO of The Musicians Club, fired 99 of his 110 employees, or about 90%, for failing to show up for a meeting. A number of messages from Slack were leaked to the English-language music magazine Musictech, where they recreated the whole situation. The announcement, shared via Slack at 8:24 a.m. on November 15, was unmistakable:
I have given you the opportunity to improve your lives, to work hard and to grow. But you showed me that you don’t take it seriously.
Out of 110 people, only 11 were present this morning. These 11 are allowed to stay. The rest of you will be fired. Get the hell out of my company right now.
The Musicians Club, according to various sources, appears to rely on a system of interns and freelancers, mostly classical music students, who are often lured with the promise of gaining professional experience and possibly a full-time paid position in the future. A former employee reported the whole situation on Reddit. The post has now been deleted by a moderator, but the comments are (still) preserved
Another problem: The problem is also said to have been that there was no advance notice for the meeting: a threatening message was said to have been sent just a few minutes before the scheduled time, which caused the employees to panic and left little room for reaction. Overall, the entire management in the company is said to have been very chaotic.
This is reported by the French magazine Jeuxvideo.com, which cites several anonymous sources who are said to have confirmed this. And the user on Reddit also confirms this:
I have not received any notification of a meeting. In the Slack workspace, I wasn’t granted access to the department I was supposed to be in.
He also says that he arrived at the company an hour before the layoffs, only to be fired just as quickly.
The boss defends his tough approach: The company is doing better than ever before
How does the boss react? Despite the general disbelief at his harsh actions, the boss showed no remorse. Rather, he stated on the LinkedIn platform that the layoffs were a justified decision and that his company was “stronger than ever.”
He even praises the controversy’s positive impact on the company’s operations, citing an increase in visitors to its website and a record number of applications following the mass layoffs. We have included his statement (via Musictech.com)
This past weekend I received an overwhelming amount of attention – both positive and negative. Some people tried to “cancel” me, but that completely backfired. Our visitor numbers have increased to over 20,000, sales are at an all-time high, and we receive hundreds of applications every day.
I received more than 300 messages, including requests for interviews from CEOs, industry leaders and major newspapers. I will do my best to respond in the next few days. I stand by my decisions and the values we uphold. Laying off these individuals was the right move for our company, and we are stronger than ever.
There are other, strange bosses: During the Corona pandemic, many companies were forced to rely on home offices and let their employees work from home. The head of an IT company now forced an employee to return to the office. But he “took revenge” on his boss by using a legal trick: the employee was forced into the office by the boss – he gave in and had his moment of triumph a little later