There is no good way to eliminate thousands of jobs. But as recent layoffs in tech and banking have shown, there are better and worse ways to do it. This is not only for the layoffs themselves, but also for what the company is doing at the same time.
Microsoft, for its part, took the heat this week to hold an exclusive party in Davos where participants enjoyed a live performance by Sting on Tuesday evening, as The Wall Street Journal reported. It’s unclear what the company paid the player, but $500,000 wouldn’t be surprising.
The next day, the company announced it would lay off 10,000 people. CEO Satya Nadella sent an email to employees upon breaking the news, reading, “We will treat our people with dignity and respect, and act with transparency. This decision is difficult, but necessary. But Sting’s private performance held close to the devastating announcement is beyond doubt .
“I’m a fan of Satya Nadella, but this is very bad executive symbolism,” tweeted Rita Gunther McGrath, professor at Columbia Business School and author End of Competitive Advantage.
At Salesforce this month, staff were called to an all-day meeting after the company announced layoffs affecting 8,000 employees. Many attendees were surprised, however, when CEO Marc Benioff avoided questions about the layoffs and instead gave a two-hour speech that many considered rambling. In an internal Slack channel, Insider reported, one employee wrote, “Is Marc making 47,600+ employees today by talking in circles and avoiding the topic at hand?”
‘Room for humanity’ in the layoffs
At Twitter, thousands were fired after Elon Musk’s chaotic takeover. Many were sent an email signed only by the company that read, “It is with regret that we are writing to inform you that your role at Twitter has been affected,” and then had to wait months for a formal severance agreement, which was not possible. they are expected. Worse, the agreement is emailed through a third-party service that looks like a phishing attempt.
“Difficult decisions have to be made from time to time. Quick decisions too. But there’s always room for humanity in the process,” Gemma Dale, founder of the HR company Employment Consulting, tweeted after the Twitter layoffs.
At Goldman Sachs this month, employees who showed up for seemingly routine meetings — to which they were sent calendar invitations — found themselves losing their jobs. As one of the workers said New York Post from a colleague’s experience, “the meeting was put on the calendar under false pretenses.”
Asked about the tactic, the bank, which laid off 3,200 employees this month, shared a statement with fortune read: “We know it’s a difficult time for people to leave. We thank everyone for their contributions, and we offer support to facilitate the transition.
fortune also reached out to Microsoft, Twitter, and Salesforce but did not receive an immediate reply.
“Leaving people happens,” Dale added comments. “How you act is everything. You follow the policy, you follow the law. This is the absolute minimum. It’s more about decency, empathy and compassion. Treat people like human beings. How you want to be treated if you happen to.
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