[dvt]

What a weird comment. The letter was perfectly fine. Firing a bunch of people is hard, impacts morale, and it's important to make sure people that you keep onboard don't panic. The letter didn't seem culty to me at all, and supporting layoffs was clearly addressed and will be done on regional-specific terms. Lawyers look at this kind of correspondence and tone down the language in some cases.

[jkonline]

I agree, I thought the letter was fine. Classy, even.

I don't see a need to have more specific language in the all-employee announcement email.

The right place for that language is in the message(s) specifically to the person's being fired. And, to their credit, they let people know ahead of time what the exact subject of that message will be.

[hn_throwaway_99]

I agree - I read the parent's comment before reading the letter, expecting to see some corporate babble.

But, honestly, I didn't see that. Sure, there is euphemistic language, but the message is very clear:

1. 10% of the company is getting laid off.

2. The CEO was very explicit about how this process would unfold (e.g. stating what the email title would be), which is a lot better than most companies provide.

We can always endlessly nitpick the language choices when a layoff happens, and I don't think I've ever seen a layoff announcement on HN, even ones I thought were extremely transparent and free from corporate-speak, that didn't get shit on by a sizable number of comments.

Layoffs suck. There are really shitty ways to do them, and less shitty ways to do them, but there are no real great ways to do them.

[ilrwbwrkhv]

10% is "getting impacted". I find it ridiculous when people use language like this. Especially a CEO. Have some courage and say the thing out loud. He who must not be named has a name, it's Voldemort.

[hn_throwaway_99]

Fine, I concede that point and agree, but at the end of the day it really doesn't matter. Everyone certainly knows exactly what he's talking about - it's not like he's being ambiguous.

[zucked]

I believe that clear, concise communication should live at the top of every message. Thoughts, feelings, explanations; that stuff goes down below.

"Today, I have to announce unpleasant news: in the coming days, Klarna will be downsizing our workforce. If you are impacted, you will receive a meeting request shortly to discuss specifics for your separation.

Even though I've been a CEO for BLAH and this is HARD and BLAH BLAH and you're forever my KLARNA HOMIES and this WAS NOT my fault, BLAH…"

[bigcat12345678]

Dude, calm down.

The letter is sent to employees, get impacted is explicit enough for the targeted audience.

Do not conflate perception gap and intended ambiguity.

No matter how through presented, message can get lost for anyone because of non-overlapping background in understanding. Neither the author nor the readers should feel negatively about that.