A popular Texas-based baby clothing company is going viral for all the wrong reasons. Kyte Baby specializes in infant clothing made with bamboo. Ying Liu, the founder of the company, took to TikTok to apologize to an employee for firing her after denying her remote work request while her adopted son fights for his life in the NCUI. It is not a good look for an company that markets itself to mothers.
Marissa, the woman in question, is withholding her last name for privacy reasons. She does not intend to go back to work at Kyte Baby because she no longer trusts the culture there. She is moving on to greener pastures.
This situation became public because of Ying’s apologies. Marissa spoke to Today to break down the situation. After years of trying to start a family and struggles with infertility, Marissa and her husband decided to adopt. Their son Judah was born prematurely at 22 weeks.
Judah was being cared for at a hospital that was nine hours away from Marissa’s home and the Kyte Baby office. It was impossible for her to work in person so she alerted her bosses and came up with a plan. "We set up my entire schedule hour-by-hour and even set check-in dates going forward," Marissa explained. "I was under the impression we were creating a new schedule based on what had already been discussed and approved." Ying was not on these calls. Marissa also made sure to clarify that Kyte Baby's maternity leave policies applied to her as an adoptive mom and not a biological mother. She was assured they did and asked if she wanted to take leave now or later.
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Marissa was shocked to be fired eight hours later. "I was told, 'Hey, unfortunately, we won't be able to (make this arrangement) and for that reason, we will take this as your resignation,'" she recalled. She felt blindsided.
Marissa stood her ground. “This isn’t what I wanted,” she explained. "I said, 'I'm not resigning and I'm willing to work … It was never my intention to quit.' They were stumbling … Then they said, ‘We don’t want you to think you’re doing the wrong thing by choosing Judah.’"
According to Kyte Baby, behind the scenes, Ying was calling the shots. She was not on the phone call but directed Marissa’s bosses. The original plan Marissa thought was set in stone was actually pending approval from Ying. "Ying did not feel her job could be done remotely and if she could not return to the office after her maternity leave, then we would part ways," a spokesperson explained.
Perhaps because of Marissa’s reaction to the news, Ying took to TikTok. Her first video was very formal and has been viewed over 2 million times. “Hey guys, it’s Ying. I wanted to hop on here to sincerely apologize to Marissa for how her parental leave was communicated and handled in the midst of her incredible journey of adoption and starting a family,” she began. "I have been trying to reach out to her to apologize directly as well.”
"It was my oversight that she didn't feel supported as we always have intended,” Ying continued. “As offered to her originally, we would find her a position whenever she decides to return to work." Many people did not think this apology was sincere and said so in the comment section.
This prompted Ying to make a second TikTok video. “OK, I’m going to do this,” Ying confessed. “So, I just posted an official apology on TikTok. And the comments were right — it was scripted. I memorized it. I basically just read it, it wasn’t sincere and I’ve decided to go off-script.”
She went on to take full responsibility. “I was the one that made the decision to veto her request to go remote while she has to stay in the NICU to take care of her adopted baby,” she stated. “And when I think back, this was a terrible decision — I was insensitive, selfish and was only focused on the fact that her job had always been done on-site and I did not see the possibility of doing it remotely.”
Marissa was surprised by the TikTok apologies because she does not use the social media platform. Ying did try to call her twice but Marissa prefers to communicate in writing. Marissa has decided not to go back to work at Kyte Baby.
"No company is perfect, but … I don’t think that’s a healthy work environment for me," Marissa stated. "It's important for people to know that both biological and adoptive parents are families. Companies should recognize that children and families always come before career and that flexibility may be required when life gets hard. That's compassion."
