With all the corporate talk about “psychological safety,” I keep wondering: is that even possible when layoffs never stop?
Real psychological safety requires predictability and trust.
Rolling layoffs destroy both.
Here’s what ki-ls it:
Zero transparency. Everything is “realignment,” “strategy,” or “location optimization.” Translation: no one knows what’s really happening.
Random performance hits. One day you’re “exceeds expectations,” the next day you’re suddenly “needs improvement” right before a cut.
No beginning, no end. Instead of one clear RIF, you get drip-drip layoffs tied to RTO, org shuffles, or quiet offshoring.
And everyone knows. Employees aren’t stupid — when people quietly disappear, the anxiety spikes.
Axios recently called this the era of the “forever layoff.” as noted in the previous post.
Micro-layoffs (fewer than 50 people) went from 38% in 2015 to 51% now. Companies do small cuts all year, stay under the radar, and pretend nothing is happening. But workers absolutely feel it — morale, trust, and well-being are tanking across the board.
And honestly, Wells Fargo is the poster child for this — just look at the ongoing discussion in that thread. Rolling layoffs, opaque messaging, shifting “location strategy,” and the slow offshoring creep. It’s exactly the anxiety-inducing pattern Axios described.
So here’s the question:
Can any company claim “psychological safety” when people spend every week wondering if they’re next?
Because psychological safety + perpetual layoffs = corporate fiction.