Written By: Maggie Brown (maggiethe_journalist)
By now, many of you have seen or heard of the viral TikTok video of Brittany Pietsch being laid off from her position at Cloudflare – a networking and cyber security firm.
Pietsch started her journey as a Mid-Market Account Executive with Cloudflare in August of 2023, and prior to her being released from her position, she believed her job performance was up to company standards.
According to Pietsch, she always received positive feedback from her manager regarding her performance metrics, ability to connect with new and existing clients, and how well she picked up on company products so easily.
So imagine her surprise when she received an email from HR representatives Rosie and Dom asking her to join a zoom call and was laid off from the company.
“We have finished our evaluations for 2023 performance [and] you haven’t met Cloudflare’s expectations [so] we have decided to part ways with you,” Dom said.
After listening to their reasoning for the lay off,Pietsch decided to use this as an opportunity to express her disappointment in the decision and stand up for herself as she believed the treatment she was receiving was unfair.
“…. to be let go for no reason is a slap in the face from a company I really wanted to believe in,” Pietch said.
She also went on to express that she believed their reasoning was invalid and that she thinks the actually reason she is being let go is because, “Cloudflare hired to many people and can no longer afford payroll.”
Although things didn’t quite work out for Pietsch at Cloudflare, all hope is not lost for the young tech professional. Since posting the video online she has received an overwhelming amount of support from the community and even had a few companies express interest in potentially hiring her.
Pietsch has a Bachelor of Arts in Musicology and Ethnomusicology from Kennesaw State University, plus held positions at companies such as Snowflake and Insight Global as an Account Manager, Information Technology Recruiter, and Corporate Account Executive.
