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Payments software company Stripe has apologized to staff after accidentally including an image of a cartoon duck in an email notifying them they had been laid off.
Over 300 people employed by Stripe were laid off on Monday across product, engineering, and operations departments, roughly 3.5% of its workforce.
Some employees facing job cuts were also sent an incorrect date of termination.
Chief People Officer Rob McIntosh issued an apology to the affected employees for the mistakes.
What the duck! Stripe makes unusual mistake with layoff comms
According to a report by Business Insider, the email sent to some staff informing them they would be affected by the job cuts included a PDF attachment with an unusual image.
The picture, captioned ‘US-Non-Californian Duck,’ depicted a yellow, cartoon duck with brown feathers.
A spokesperson for Stripe said the cartoon image – and more seriously, the inclusion of incorrect termination dates – were mistakes.
In a follow-up email sent by McIntosh, the Chief People Officer wrote: “I also want to note that some impacted Stripes received a notification error to their personal email accounts Monday evening PT.”
“I apologize for the error and any confusion it caused," he continued. "Corrected and full notifications have since been sent to all impacted Stripes.”
Another email sent by the HR leader to staff confirmed that while 300 employees would be laid off, the payments firm aims to reach a headcount of 10,000 employees by the end of 2025.
On the professional platform Blind, one employee posted in group for Stripe employees, checking if other colleagues had also been sent the duck cartoon.
Some saw the funny side of the inadvertent attachment. “Wonder if there’s a California duck," one said. “Quick, make a slack emoji out of the duck,” another quipped.
However, some employees said the mistake showed a lack of care. One described the comms to Stripes impacted by the layoffs as “flubbed completely.”
A tale of two memos
With the latest layoff communications drawing ire and scrutiny over their carelessness, some have drawn comparisons with a memo sent by Stripe’s founders, Patrick and John Collison, in 2022.
The public letter was praised for its honesty and ownership, at a time when other executives – such as Elon Musk at Twitter, now X – were criticized for communications that lacked empathy and accountability for the tricky decisions and their impact on the lives of hard-working staffers.
“We're very sorry to be taking this step and John and I are fully responsible for the decisions leading up to it,” the 2022 memo from Stripe’s founders said.
“Most importantly, while this is definitely not the separation we would have wanted or imagined when we were making hiring decisions, we want everyone that is leaving to know that we care about you as former colleagues and appreciate everything you’ve done for Stripe.”
The quackers story is a reminder for employers and HR teams of the importance of care, attention, and accuracy when planning sensitive communications such as layoff notifications.
