Remarks made by CEO and cofounder Shaival Shah to the Ribbon team at an All Hands employee meeting on 7.28.2022.
The below are remarks made by CEO and cofounder Shaival Shah to the Ribbon team at an All Hands employee meeting this morning (7.28.2022).
Dear Team,
I wanted to gather the whole company together. We have experienced great days and tough days, but we have always experienced those together. It’s what has created our bonds, our resiliency and our compassion.
Today, I come to you with a very heavy heart and difficult news to share. We have made the decision to reduce the size of Ribbon’s workforce and align to a more focused strategy with a financial plan designed for the future.
As you know, we have been living through a very significant shift in the market. Last week, I shared that we were exploring various scenarios to adapt to the changing market conditions, including adjusting our team size and composition.
As a leadership team, we have tried to delay this decision for as long as possible, but we are not immune to what we have been seeing elsewhere in the market.
Later today, we have to say goodbye to 136 of our talented teammates. This decision was no fault of the team and was beyond the control of those impacted.
As a leader, I take responsibility for this outcome. First, I don’t excuse this to market conditions alone. Doing so would fail to honor those impacted, and miss an opportunity that we can learn from. The market conditions exposed areas that need improvement across our product and team to evolve with the changing consumer. I am ultimately responsible to all those decisions and this decision, as a result.
I owe it to all of you to share why the company made this decision, how we approached reductions, and how we intend to care for our impacted teammates. Each step was considered and discussed in the service of compassion and dignity to those impacted.
How was this decision made?
The market changes impacted our growth and that’s been the topic of discussion. But more important, it illuminated three realities:
I want everyone to know that leadership and myself were involved in all aspects of the process.
This is the framework that we used to approached reductions:
How we intend to care for our impacted team members:
I take responsibility for all people that join Ribbon. My goal:
We have put together transition packages, with the hope of thoughtfully supporting varying needs. Each departing team member will receive:
Cash Compensation and Benefits:
Equity Benefits
Supporting in professional pursuits
What to expect next:
Within an hour of the end of All Hands, everyone at Ribbon will receive an email informing them if they have or have not been impacted. Every impacted person will have an option to speak to a manager or colleague, part of a Care Team assembled, to speak in person.
I know this feels like a painful way to receive this news. I am sorry for this. Our goal was to share this as a group and then to provide people space and privacy when impacted colleagues were informed. It is the main reason we asked that everyone work from home today - so everyone could receive this news privately in a place of their choosing.
In closing, I want to share my gratitude with you.
I know this decision is challenging for a company like ours. We are a very tight-knit group and bonds have formed everywhere. Everyone has contributed to that collective spirit. We’ve built memories and emotions together. And I honor the emotions you must be feeling right now.
To those who are impacted by this decision, I am deeply sorry. Each of you brought love, passion and integrity to your work and directly helped progress our mission. I thank you for bringing your special talents to Ribbon. And always know that you and your work mattered. You have our full commitment to support you into your next journey.
To those that are not impacted, our greatest form of respect is to remind our parting teammates how they helped us grow, how they contributed meaningful value and how our support in their future journeys will always be available.
To everyone, you are in my heart and I thank you for sharing your talents with all of us.