Layoffs happen every year. We get it. Most laid-off people are in the bottom half of the performance scale or are deemed “non-vital” to the core business.
But this year's culling is a bridge too far. I think I will fail at my job now because among the fallen is one expert I rely on to support a critical part of my role. That layoff decision made absolutely no sense. This person was doing yeoman’s level work, and now my team will suffer the consequences. Even if we were given more resources to do the work, which means that layoff was a poor decision, the contextual expertise is now gone.
So what happens next? On the surface, everything will look like it does after every layoff: low morale, lots of water cooler complaints (only if you are foolish enough to follow the RTO mandate and actually be by the water cooler), and obligatory speeches by our leaders to focus on what we can control and push forward. But instead of just accepting the pain, keeping our chins up, and hoping that we don't get sc--wed on bonuses next year, I think a lot of people (myself included) will be looking to leave while we can do so on our terms.