ST. LOUIS, Mo. — A noose intended as a joke has cost an international contractor his job with Ericsson Telecommunications.

The noose was hanging over a cubicle in AT&T’s office building in St. Louis.

It was posted online and shared multiple times.

Ericsson says the foreign employee was leaving a joke for another international worker.

KTVI reports an Ericsson spokesperson released a statement early Thursday:

“We immediately began an investigation and determined that one of these International contractors for Ericsson placed the noose as a joke intended for a fellow international contractor. While this is an image US citizens find extremely offensive, these international employees were not aware of the disturbing racial and cultural implications a noose has here in the US. We have fired the international contractor responsible and made all others aware that this image is highly offensive to Americans. We wish to apologize to everyone for this appalling incident.”

They were unaware of the racial implications of the noose in america.

Ericsson apologizes for what it calls an appalling incident.