Overview
- Pinterest confirmed it terminated two engineers who wrote scripts to compile and share names and locations of laid-off colleagues, calling it a violation of policy and employee privacy.
- The access followed leadership telling staff it would not distribute a list of impacted employees for privacy reasons, though some employees contend existing internal capabilities were used rather than a newly built tool.
- At an all-hands meeting, CEO Bill Ready labeled the conduct “obstructionist” and told workers who disagree with the company’s direction to consider leaving.
- The restructuring will cut fewer than 15% of roles, reduce office space, run through Sept. 30, and carry an estimated $35–$45 million in pretax charges, according to company disclosures.
- Reports of the episode coincided with a roughly 6% drop in Pinterest shares and continued investor concern that AI chatbots and agents from larger rivals could pressure its ads business.