Pinterest CEO Bill Ready reprimanded employees who developed an internal tool to monitor company layoffs and terminated those responsible.

“Healthy debate and dissent are expected, that’s how we make our decisions,” Ready said at a companywide meeting last week, according to audio obtained by CNBC. “But there’s a clear line between constructive debate and behavior that’s obstructionist.”

On Jan. 27, Pinterest revealed plans to lay off under 15 per cent of its workforce and reduce office space as part of a wider restructuring focused on channeling resources into artificial intelligence initiatives.

The company expects the layoffs to be finished by the end of September.

After the announcement, Pinterest’s technology chief discussed the layoffs in a meeting.

Some employees inquired about which teams would be affected and whether additional job cuts were anticipated, according to an anonymous source familiar with the private discussion.

Several Pinterest engineers subsequently developed an internal software tool to track the layoffs.

The engineers were fired on Friday, according to the source, though the total number of employees dismissed is unclear.

At an all-hands meeting that day, Ready defended the decision, describing Pinterest as facing a “critical moment” in the industry.

He said employees should consider leaving if they are “working against the direction of the company” or disagree with its mission.

Ready stated that Pinterest would not release detailed information about the layoffs, citing concerns for employee privacy.

“I know people have natural curiosity around these things,” Ready said. “We shared some of those major structural changes. The smaller ones, those will be communicated at the team level.”

A Pinterest spokesperson confirmed the engineer incident and the town hall meeting but declined to comment on the firings.