CHENNAI: Salon at Home service brand, 'Yes Madam' based in Noida, is under intense criticism after a viral email stated that over 100 employees were fired for reporting significant 'stress' at work.

The controversy began when Anushka Dutta, a former UX copywriter of the company, shared a screenshot of an email from the company’s HR department.

The email stated that a mental health survey had been conducted, and those who reported high levels of stress were terminated.

The email explained that the decision to terminate employees was made to ensure an stress-free workplace and would take effect immediately.

The letter read out as, "Dear Team, Recently, we conducted a survey to understand your feelings about stress at work. Many of you shared your concerns, which we deeply value and respect. As a company committed to fostering a healthy and supportive work environment, we have carefully considered the feedback. To ensure that no one remains stressed at work, we have made the difficult decision to part ways with employees who indicated significant stress. This decision is effective immediately, and impacted employees will receive further details separately. Thank you for your contributions. Best regards, HR Manager, YesMadam" [sic].

Social media users widely criticized the mass layoffs, calling it bizarre, and condemned the company for firing employees.

A netizen criticising the viral screenshot, said, “The most bizarre layoffs: YesMadam conducts stress survey at work. Employees who say they are stressed are fired.”

“So, recently a startup named YesMadam sent out a survey to team members on how stressed they are AND? Guess what, fired the ones who had voted they are under extreme stress,” another user taking to X (formerly known as Twitter) said.