A US CEO has come under fire for firing 99 employees in a harsh Slack message. The mass firing, sparked by employees failing to attend a company meeting, sparked outrage and speculation online.

The incident gained momentum after an intern shared the CEO’s fiery message on Reddit. The intern, who had joined the company just an hour earlier, claimed he was among those fired. He posted the Slack message to the popular Recruiting Hell subreddit, where it quickly went viral.

The CEOidentified as Baldvin, began his message with a sharp rebuke, accusing the employees of breaching their contractual obligations. “For those of you who did not show up for the meeting this morning, consider this official notice: you are all fired,” the message read.

Baldvin said the absence of employees demonstrated a lack of seriousness and professionalism. “Out of 110 people, only 11 were present this morning. These 11 can stay. The rest of you are fired,” he declared.

The CEO further instructed the fired employees to return all company property, log out of their accounts and leave Slack immediate workspace. He ended the message with an expletive-laden directive: “Get the hell out of my business right now.”

Adverse reactions online

The drastic call drew criticism and confusion from Reddit users. Many speculated that poor communication may have led to employee absenteeism. “Did the chief executive inform them properly? I can’t imagine 99 people ignoring a meeting,” asked one commenter.

Others theorized deeper issues, such as financial problems or ulterior motives behind the layoffs. “This feels like a setup to downsize seamlessly,” one user suggested.

While opinions varied, CEOthe handling of the situation was widely condemned as unprofessional and extreme. The viral post reignited debates about workplace management and employee rights.