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CEO fired 90% of his staff for missing a morning meeting. He stands by the choice

Baldvin Oddson, CEO of a Wyoming-based musical-instrument online storefront, the Musicians Club, fired 90% of his staff—99 out of 110 employees and freelancers—via Slack message for missing just one morning meeting at 8:30 a.m. on Fri., Nov. 15.

One former employee detailed the shocking event in a now-deleted post on Reddit’s "mildlyinfuriating" forum. “I joined an internship, and an hour later, the entire team got fired,” the original user wrote.

“For those of you who did not show up to the meeting this morning, consider this your official notice: you’re all fired,” Oddson wrote in the all-team Slack. “You failed to do what you agreed to, you failed to complete your part of the contract, and you failed to show up for the meetings you were supposed to attend and work for.”

Oddson then instructed the group, who all work remotely, to sign out from all accounts, return any company property, and consider any contracts terminated.

“I gave you an opportunity to make your life better, to work hard, and to grow. Yet, you have shown me that you don’t take this seriously,” he went on. “Out of 110 people, only 11 were present this morning. Those 11 get to stay. The rest of you are terminated. Get the f–k out of my business right now.”

Many workers fired from the Musicians Club were unpaid remote part-timers (jobs are marketed toward classical music students looking for work experience). A job listing from earlier this year for an unpaid operations manager role with the company received 51 applicants.

The listing said the job would provide “in-depth understanding of e-commerce operations within a competitive market,” “practical experience in managing and optimizing online sales platforms,” and a “high potential for full-time paid conversion in 2025.”

The Musicians Club is essentially a lean startup, the former intern wrote on Reddit, adding that Oddson’s company “relies on remote interns” willing to work for free.

Evidently, Oddson got what he paid for—workers who are essentially volunteering likely don't hold themselves to the same standards as those with a salary and benefits.

“Internally, everyone was put into a frenzy,” the intern wrote. “There were some workers that had worked with the CEO for literal years and had no warning about something like this. A big problem was that because all of the workers are unpaid and remote, they all had different schedules, so apparently it was difficult to set a specific time for attendance, which was what the CEO was so mad about.”

For his part, Oddson posted about the event on LinkedIn with neither shame nor apology last week. (His LinkedIn shows that he founded the Musicians Club in 2022, and also teaches trumpet at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York.)

“While some attempted to ‘cancel’ me, it has completely backfired,” Oddson wrote. “Our traffic has surged to over 20,000 views, sales are at an all-time high, and we’re receiving hundreds of applications daily.”

“I stand by my decisions and the values we uphold,” he went on. “Firing those individuals was the right move for our organization, and we are stronger than ever.” (Oddson didn’t immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.)

Even so, Oddson’s LinkedIn profile picture is framed by the ubiquitous purple #HIRING banner.

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by Anonymousreply 19November 26, 2024 5:06 PM

Good for him!

We need to stop coddling young people or they'll never grow up.

by Anonymousreply 1November 26, 2024 11:13 AM

R1 You mean "coddling" them by, I don't know, paying for work?? Is that you, Elon?

[quote] A big problem was that because all of the workers are unpaid...Evidently, Oddson got what he paid for—workers who are essentially volunteering likely don't hold themselves to the same standards as those with a salary and benefits.

Fuck this guy, you can't "fire" volunteers.

by Anonymousreply 2November 26, 2024 11:21 AM

I agree, R1.

The employees all sound like GenZ assholes, who seem to think they can do whatever they want, with no consequences.

Fuck them. They got what they deserved.

by Anonymousreply 3November 26, 2024 11:24 AM

R1 employees? Maybe if they got a paycheck they’d be considered employees. These are volunteers.

by Anonymousreply 4November 26, 2024 11:45 AM

This startup uses unpaid interns. Unpaid interns are largely young adults who are not financially strapped, their parents give them money.

I know “DEI” gets a lot of flak these days but, truly, there are few things more classist and exclusionary than the Unpaid Internship. Ask any art museum that does it… the applicant pool is all comfy upper class girls, very high % white.

by Anonymousreply 5November 26, 2024 12:01 PM

Anyone who took one of those "jobs" was dumb as a box of rocks anyway. Probably good musicians, though!

by Anonymousreply 6November 26, 2024 12:02 PM

Bravo, OP. You hit DLs sweet spot with an article that rages against both Gen Z and white women. If a company can still operate with 90% fewer employees, and they were unpaid volunteers anyway, is it really a company?

by Anonymousreply 7November 26, 2024 12:11 PM

[quote] there are few things more classist and exclusionary than the Unpaid Internship. Ask any art museum that does it…

Tell me about it.

I had to fire one for being a racist, classist busybody.

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by Anonymousreply 8November 26, 2024 12:16 PM

CEOs tend to be on the psychopath scale, and psychopathic behaviour is rewarded

by Anonymousreply 9November 26, 2024 1:39 PM

How do you run a business when 9O% of your staff is unpaid?

by Anonymousreply 10November 26, 2024 1:46 PM

Most of his staff receive no pay whatsoever and he expects them to be 100% dedicated to their jobs? He's a fool

by Anonymousreply 11November 26, 2024 1:49 PM

Seems like a shady "business" run by a pig.

by Anonymousreply 12November 26, 2024 1:50 PM

My unpaid interns never complain and are always on time!

by Anonymousreply 13November 26, 2024 2:05 PM

Those 90% should consider themselves to be incredibly lucky. This CEO has done them an enormous favor.

by Anonymousreply 14November 26, 2024 2:09 PM

How do I get in on this 90% of my workforce is unpaid? What a tool this guy must be.

by Anonymousreply 15November 26, 2024 2:24 PM

I hope the Department of Labor investigates him for FLSA violations. You can't call someone an "unpaid intern" and demand actual work on your own schedule and with the same expectations you would have for a true employee.

by Anonymousreply 16November 26, 2024 2:29 PM

However will they cope with being fired from an unpaid position?

Joking aside, it's hard to fully comment without knowing how the meeting was described. Some all-employee meetings are nothing more than a few updates that have already been emailed out. But if the meeting invite made it clear attendance was mandatory that's different because it proves most didn't read it, or if they did read it, they didn't care.

by Anonymousreply 17November 26, 2024 2:58 PM

R7, I doubt the plan is to not replace those let go.

by Anonymousreply 18November 26, 2024 3:21 PM

He was basically a slave owner.

by Anonymousreply 19November 26, 2024 5:06 PM
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