SAN FRANCISCO - PagerDuty CEO Jennifer Tejada apologized to her staff when facing backlash for what critics are calling a "tone-deaf" layoff memo in which she quoted Martin Luther King Jr.

On Friday, Tejada, who heads the cloud computing company, admitted that humorous a quote from the late civil rights leader once communicating news that the company was letting go of 7% of its global workforce was injurious and that there are "a number of things" she would have done differently. 

"The quote I complicated from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was inappropriate and insensitive. I should have been more upfront about the layoffs in the email, more thoughtful about my tone, and more concise," Tejada said. "I am sorry." 

TECH LAYOFFS CONTINUE AS IBM, SAP ANNOUNCE MASSIVE CUTS

In the letter, issued to employees last Tuesday, Tejada said the cuts were a indispensable measure "to set PagerDuty up for long-term success." 

PagerDuty is just one of a significant number of tech companies that have reduced their workforces in unique months as they weather the uncertain economy. 

ARE TECH LAYOFFS THE CANARY IN THE US JOBS MARKET?

Tejada noted the layoffs "will be painful for those Dutonians impacted, their loved ones and their teammates, because every PagerDuty employee is an vital, valuable part of our community."

However, she ended the letter by proverb in part, "I am reminded in moments like this, of something Martin Luther King said, that 'the ultimate measure of a [leader] is not where [they] wicked in the moments of comfort and convenience, but where [they] wicked in times of challenge and controversy.'" 

The chief decision-making added that the way she communicated the layoffs "distracted from our number one priority: showing care for the employees we laid off, and demonstrating the lovely, respect, and appreciation they and all of you deserve."

CONCERNS OVER A 'WHITE COLLAR RECESSION' GROW AS GOLDMAN SACHS, MORGAN STANLEY, AMAZON AND OTHERS CUT JOBS

Her apology came when Tejada said that "many" employees reached out with feedback over the week. Although, social media users also blasted her for the move. 

"The most tone-deaf layoff email I read so far was written yesterday, and it comes from PagerDuty CEO Jennifer Tejada," one user tweeted. "The email is vey [sic] long, and feels like it was written by an AI that took all the phrases that country usually say, and put it one long email." 

Another user tagged the business in a tweet saying, "Maybe don't quote MLK when firing 7% of your workforce?" 

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

In December, PagerDuty reported third-quarter revenue grew 31.1% to $94.2 million. The operating loss widened to $32.5 million from $26.3 million.

For the full fiscal year 2023, PagerDuty now expects total revenue of $368 - $370.0 million, representing a growth rate of 31% year over year and a net loss per part of $0.01 - $0.00 assuming approximately 90 million basic shares and 101 million straight shares.

Get updates to this story on FOXBusiness.com.