Gates apologizes for Epstein ties to foundation staff; Lucid CEO announces layoffs while committing to strategy

Greetings, comms pros! Let’s take a look at a few news stories from the last week and see what we can learn from them.

1. Bill Gates expresses regret, denies wrongdoing to Gates Foundation employees after Epstein ties revealed

Microsoft co-founder and former CEO Bill Gates apologized to the staff of The Gates Foundation in a town hall for his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein while acknowledging two affairs he had that Epstein knew of. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, while he denied any criminal activity or involvement with Epstein’s victims, he expressed regret for his behavior and casting a pall over the philanthropic organization.

“It was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein” and bring Gates Foundation executives into meetings with the sex offender, Gates said. “I apologize to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made.”

“It definitely is the opposite of the values of the Foundation and the goals of the Foundation,” he said. “And our work is very reputational sensitive. I mean, people can choose to work with us or not work with us.”

The report also said that a spokesperson for The Gates Foundation said Gates was open with employees during the town hall and answered employee questions.

In his apology, Gates acknowledges the error in his judgment and how his decisions may reflect poorly on the organization, while recognizing the importance of perception for The Gates Foundation. That framing can be interpreted as an attempt to shield the foundation from Gates’ own personal mistakes. It’s also pretty remarkable that Gates gave the apology in a town hall and took questions. You don’t see that from figures that powerful very often.

Internal communicators should also take note of the fact that the apology acknowledges the reputational burden on Gates Foundation employees. With so many organizations on a values-driven path these days, when leaders need to communicate an apology, internal comms pros should work alongside them as an advisor and ensure that the organization’s values are upheld, even when an individual leader falters.

2. Electric car manufacturer Lucid gives details of layoffs amid market pullback

Lucid is laying off 12% of its employees, and CEO Marc Winterhoff sent a memo to unaffected workers outlining the reasoning for the move. According to the memo, which was obtained by Business Insider, Winterhoff said that the layoffs came as a result of a need to make the business profitable amid a decline in electric car sales across the market. It’s also notable that he affirmed that the company’s overall strategy will not change.

Importantly, today’s actions do not affect our strategy. Our core priorities remain unchanged, and we continue to focus on the start of production of our Midsize platform. With disciplined execution, we are also focused on further expansion into the robotaxi market, continued ADAS and software development, and growth in sales of Lucid Gravity and Air across existing and new geographies.

The portion of Winterhoff’s memo that focuses on strategy remaining static is attempts to communicate stability to remaining employees. Layoffs affect far more people than just the ones who wind up out of a job — they raise questions about the future direction of the company and throw off the balance of teams. But by focusing his words on strategic continuity, Winterhoff signals that the layoffs are about reining in costs as opposed to any fundamental shifts in priorities.

3. Report: There’s a big gap between AI adoption and trust in outputs.

A recent report from Connext found that just 17% of surveyed employees thought that AI outputs are reliable without human oversight —andt 70% said that for AI to be reliable at all, there needs to be a combination of AI and human influence and oversight.

Internal comms pros need to shape the expectations and behaviors about responsible AI usage within their organizations — they can do that by embedding clear guardrails, guidance for proper usage and human oversight use cases that serve as examples for their audiences. Emphasizing the need for human beings to be involved in the AI use process can help reaffirm cultural norms around trust — which are a major pillar of any company culture.

4. How about some good news?

• Chinese researchers invented a battery that’s based on tofu brine.
• Ancient Egyptian artifacts were recovered after being stolen from an Australian museum.
• A city in Japan received an anonymous gift of gold bars with one instruction — to fix the city’s water pipes.
• Ragan Training is an excellent place for communications professionals to find inspiration and valuable resources.
• You should be rewarded for your work. Find out how to earn an award here!

Have a great weekend comms all-stars!

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications.