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An Error During the Testing of an Offboarding Tool Triggered the Sending of Dismissal Notices to All Sectors, Reaching Even the CEO and Creating an Atmosphere of Confusion That Mobilized HR and IT Immediately
A platform test conducted by the human resources department of a company raised concerns among hundreds of employees.
The message informed that this would be everyone’s last day of work , including leadership and the CEO, and triggered an immediate reaction. The case was published by the user @Apprehensive_Show561 on Reddit, in the forum r/wellthatsucks.
Unexpected Alert Hits 300 Employees
According to the report, HR forgot to activate test mode when using an automated offboarding tool and ended up sending real termination emails.
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In total, 300 employees received the notification informing them that their last working day would take effect immediately. One manager even questioned whether he should start packing his belongings upon reading the message.
The post includes a screenshot of an urgent notice sent shortly after the failure. In the text, HR asks everyone not to panic and explains that the tool had sent a dismissal test to the entire company. The notice emphasizes that no one was being terminated and advises to ignore the previous email.
IT Intervenes After Error and Tries to Calm Team
To contain the atmosphere of uncertainty, the IT team sent a new message to all employees. The text, written in uppercase letters, informed that no dismissals had occurred.
The author of the post comments that, despite the explanation, the situation affected the environment and that many would not be able to work normally that day.
Published on Sunday, November 9, the report has accumulated 53,000 positive interactions and about two thousand comments.
Among the reactions, one user pointed out that the tool test could indicate plans to automate mass terminations, highlighting that the episode was considered destabilizing by those following the discussion.
