Dobbs' layoff email, here it goes:
Hello student engagement,
As Chip shared earlier today, we’re making important progress in our transition to a platform company, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Given the need to better support our platform strategy and move us forward more quickly, we have taken a hard look at how we are organized to focus teams on the right work, eliminate duplicative work, address excess capacity, and streamline management layers that may slow us down.
Over the last few hours, we have spoken with members of student engagement whose roles have changed or who will be leaving 2U. Allowing team members the time and space to have these conversations is important and we appreciate your understanding as we met with these individuals. It’s never easy to say goodbye to colleagues, but we are confident this is best for students, partners, and the future of 2U.
It is important for you to understand how our team has changed, why we made the decisions we did, and what it means for your future work. We’re committed to keeping you informed. Here’s what you can expect over the next couple of days:
Over the next 24 hours your department leader will set up time to meet with their respective teams. In this discussion you will hear all of the relevant context as it pertains to your team.
On Tuesday we will have a full student engagement team meeting where I will share the full context for all of the student engagement changes, first with our management team and then with the full student engagement team.
Over the course of next week myself, and our leadership team, will make themselves accessible to all of you.
I find that in circumstances like this it is important to be clear on expectations. Our shared expectations are that context will be provided in a transparent, authentic and direct manner. I also want to be sure that collectively we remain aligned on honoring our commitments to our learners and to each other through authenticity, decency and support.
It’s been our collective strength over the years that has allowed us to navigate through difficult times in the past, I am confident that same strength will continue to help us through this one.
If at any time you find yourself overwhelmed, please do not hesitate to reach out to your managers or HR for assistance. We have resources in place to provide support.
Thank you,
Dobbs