Rip the band aid off or do it slow.. I think slow better as General Mills did

My best wishes go out to all Target folks that got cut, but also to those left behind (sometimes that can be worse thinking when will then next shoe drop.. For sure when high performers were let go.

At target they announced last week cut this week (rip the bandaid off)

At General Mills they announced in October, we didn't find out till January.

Even though there was nervous days & sleepless nights, you had more time to processe it.

They said they wanted to do it right, vs. fast.

And I think they did, level by level, no more than 8 levels down from top, no less than 8 direct reports.

They kept most high performers.

We also didn't have the ... Odd corp culture I have read in posts (hiring to hire, no real work, bolted corp, no transparency' this coffe time thin?)

So very long stress time, but I think General Mills did it right

Hope the best for all of you.

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Yes, General Mills has 1/2 day Fridays in the summer, but the reality was different for different teams. Lots of people work from home, but are still dialling into meetings all morning. More often than not, the directors and VPs would hand off work to managers and below at 11.45am and say "I need these first thing Monday morning. Have a great weekend!". So, in theory there are summer hours. In reality, not so much. It's a way the company pretends to have work-life balance. Unsure if they will continue this ruse after this most recent round of layoffs.

Odd corp culture? What about 1/2 day off on Fridays during summer? Didn't General Mills have this or did that go away. From what I heard, 1/2 day is like a day off. All companies have unique norms that don't make sense to everyone. Besides, people who vent here can sometimes exagerate the extent of GTKYs or coffee statuses.

There is no good way to do layoffs. It's hard on those who go and those that stay. I can confirm that General Mills let go a mix of high and low performers - there were some very talented VPs/directors that challenged the (clearly not working) strategies - all of them were laid off. Remember that slow also has it's downsides - you have to watch your friends and peers get laid off every two weeks. It destroys morale knowing that it's Tuesday, so you will see tears, boxes, and "offline" messages. They also revealed the new org structure layer by layer, so teams were partially ripped apart, people in multiple roles, no certainty on who was responsible for tasks. Again, I'm not suggesting that ripping the band-aid is the answer, but the slow route can be really hard too.

I am sure someone on the General Mills layoff board didn't agree with you. Layoffs suck and emotions run high. Quick or slow, works for some and doesn't work for others. Highly doubt that General Mills only got rid of poor performers. I guess you personally hand picked each one and so you know for sure.

What was the magnitude of your cuts? 10%?

Thread regarding Target Corp. layoffs

Rip the band aid off or do it slow.. I think slow better as General Mills did

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