People are applauding this woman for standing up for herself while getting laid off

Anyone who has been a part of a layoff process without given a proper reason knows that it can be utterly frustrating. Brittany Pietsch–who goes by @brittanypeachhh on TikTok–decided to stand up for herself when she was laid off and shared her layoff call she had filmed. Pietsch shared, "My co-workers have been getting random 15-minute call invites all day." She added, "My work bff got a meeting 30 minutes before I did and she got laid off." At that point, Pietsch knew what was coming, so she decided to film the call. Also, she expressed that as she had nothing to lose, she decided to stand up for herself and ask questions.

At the beginning of the video, she revealed, "I got laid off by two people I don't know: A woman from HR and a director I have never heard of." The director on the call told her that she was getting laid off because she did not meet performance expectations. Pietsch cut the director off and said, "I am going to stop you right there. So, I started August 25th. I have been on a 3-month ramp. Then it was three weeks of December, a week of Christmas, and then here we are." She told the people she had the highest activity among her team and had done a great job managing her deals. She remarked that the layoff did not make any sense to her.

"Every single one-on-one I've had with my manager, every conversation I've had with him, he has been giving me nothing, but I am doing a great job," she added. Pietsch disagreed with them that she did not meet the expectations. She asked, "Also, why are you doing this and not my manager? We've never met, so this feels a little odd that my manager has no idea that this has been happening, the director has no idea that this has been happening." 

She felt confused and wanted answers and data on why her performance had not been up to the mark, but the HR and the director refused that information. Further in the call, Pietsch said she would really appreciate it if she was told the real reason behind the layoff instead of being told that her performance was not up to the mark. She realized this was happening because the company probably could not afford to keep all its employees.

People in the comment had a lot to share about the incident. @katykat29 commented, "HR pro here. Let me just say that it is HR's job to have all the details to explain why this happened if it is truly performance-related." @shaniqueimari wrote, "I'm so proud of you for standing up for yourself! They owe you so much more than this." @piavonwestphalen shared, "You are so brave. I bawled during my meeting when I was let go. I hope more people hold leadership accountable for their actions." @skyeleight55 expressed, "You had the HR team struggling to communicate… I dream of having your composure. I would have cried. I have no doubt you will be valued elsewhere." @keepinitclassycassie remarked, "I am so sorry to hear this. I was let go after 7 years of loyalty to a company I worked for. It literally almost killed me. I'm so sorry." 

You can follow Brittany Pietsch @brittanypeachhh on TikTok for more lifestyle content.

This article originally appeared on 5.6.24.