Layoffs are not a strategy. They are a symptom of failed leadership. Layoffs impact millions of people annually, with approximately 19.2 million U.S. workers being laid off per year. Too often, are wrapped in fancy words like “realignment,” “rightsizing,” or “transformation.” But behind these words are real people, employees whose lives are tragically upended. Layoffs don’t just disrupt careers. They fracture trust, morale, and culture. People lose stability, relationships, and sometimes even hope. The real costs? Depression, anxiety, addiction, broken marriages, financial ruin, etc.
Leadership Accountability is missing. Rarely are leaders held accountable for the decisions that led to these outcomes. What about “Layoff Reform” to include mandatory post-layoff principles that prioritize dignity, transparency, and accountability?
1) Treat impacted employees with respect/dignity. Layoffs are personal…if you are laid off
2) Emotional/Psychological severance, like counseling for anxiety, depression, and trauma.
3) Rebuild morale with remaining employees who are survivors, scared, concerned and watching.
4) Public layoff disclosure: number of employees, age, tenure, gender, race, salary, and ethnicity.
5) No promotions during the layoff year. Employee advancement while others are discarded sends the wrong message.
6) Suspend bonuses, salary increases, incentive pay, and stock awards for senior and executive leadership during the layoff year. Leaders should not be rewarded and profit from failure.
7) Companies that conduct layoffs are disqualified/excluded from any “Best Employer” lists for that year. You can’t be the “greatest” while laying off employees.
4 replies (most recent on top)
None of what you mentioned will ever happen in America/Canada due to ultra-capitalism + late stage capitalism.
At the end of the day, the ONLY thing that matters to any publicly traded company is the stock price. You as a person do not matter to them. If they could raise their stock price 0.01% by laying you off, they would.
As wages stagnate and costs rise, the only thing we can look forward to help this situation is pretty much a collapse of our current economic society.
Promotions? Yes, they still happen. Quietly and under the table.
Promotions still happen here?
Agree that layoffs are not a strategy. I do wish there was more transparency about who is let go and why.
I don’t think those of us still employed should suffer though, some of us still work very hard for promotions and bonuses and I don’t think it would be any benefit at all to deprive us of that. The morale is already so low, and the workload is so high. A small bonus or raise would go far to keep people complacent and honestly would not have been the make or break to save from layoffs anyway.