The leadership thinks that if layoffs are managed in this way, gradually getting rid of small numbers of people, it will avoid viral backlash and negative reporting in the media. But I think they are mistaken. Why? Because it is not conducting layoffs respectfully. Employees are left with a bitter taste in their mouth precisely because of such an unfair approach, and this will result in even greater damage to company's reputation.
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You are overthinking it. They are a private company now. They give a sh-t about public perception. They will do the layoffs when they run the numbers. The work isn’t done yet
What is happening is classic corporate mentality: employees are chess pieces to be moved around. If they have to sacrifice pieces, that's part of the game. They don't actually care about the pieces themselves - it's all a means to an end. When Krause said "we're all adults here", he's really saying "this is Corporate America; you don't have to like it, but this is the way it is."
Of course there are companies that truly care about their employees. Just not this one.
Companies are not supposed to be ethical but people are. Leadership (Directors and above) are showing their greed and totally disregard for their employees. It’s ok don’t think twice, but when you cheat, mistreat employees, and lie, it’ll circle back to you.
Also, the company has no reputation to care about. It's a new company. Besides, they don't care. That's not part of the thought process.
Finally - it's not going to be small numbers of people along the way. Something bigger is coming. They're just getting started.
Okay, so you still don't understand what's happening here. To be clear, TK is not attempting to be respectful. He's merely trying to cut the cash burn rate as quickly as possible. It doesn't matter to him that some employees are unhappy about the process.
This is what happens when a PE firm takes over a grossly mismanaged company, with only the intent to trim it down to the bare minimum and sell off what's remaining.
This is not like prior layoffs that you may have experienced. This is different. There is no greater damage to be done, and nothing left to protect. It's too late for that.