US payment giant makes termination letter error, sends cartoon image in the email

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Stripe accidentally sent termination emails with a cartoon duck image to 300 laid-off employees, adding an odd twist to their layoffs. Chief People Officer Rob McIntosh apologized for the mistake. Despite the reduction, Stripe plans significant expansion, increasing staff by 17%, reaching around 10,000 employees by year-end.

Stripe accidentally attached a cartoon duck image to termination emails sent to employees being laid off, adding an absurd moment to an already tense corporate restructuring.

The payments giant is reducing its workforce by 300 employees, representing approximately 3.5% of its staff, while simultaneously planning significant expansion in 2025. The bizarre email error—featuring a cartoon duck labeled “US-Non-California Duck”—quickly became a focal point of the layoff announcement.

A Stripe spokesperson confirmed the notification mistake, with Chief People Officer Rob McIntosh sending a follow-up email apologizing for the “notification error” and “any confusion it caused.” Some emails even provided affected employees with incorrect termination dates, compounding the administrative blunder.

The layoffs predominantly affect product, engineering, and operations departments. Despite the workforce reduction, McIntosh emphasized the company’s commitment to growth, projecting a 17% headcount increase that would bring total employees to around 10,000 by year’s end.

The company has now conducted two major workforce reductions, with this latest cut following a 14% reduction in November 2022 that impacted roughly 1,120 employees.

The duck-themed email mishap adds a surreal element to what is typically a serious corporate process, highlighting the human—and occasionally absurd—side of workplace communications during difficult organizational changes.

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