Layoffs happening any day now

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a manager and we had layoffs this past week. I had no idea one of my employees would be let go. Position was eliminated without my knowledge. Employee asked me after they got the termination call, if I had any idea. I didn’t and wanted to be truthful and say no but had to keep to the party line and not answer. It was painful. In hindsite, what should I have said? Employee was a good worker just overpaid and business cost cutting reason for sure.

I would’ve told the truth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also depends a lot on your industry. If you are in health insurance, for example, your company is preparing for bad news on cost pressures or revenue reductions from enrollment declines (or lack of growth). That’s not ‘company is going down’ bad, just ‘stock price will take a hit’ bad. Layoffs signal to investors that earnings will stay in line.

Are health insurance companies laying off?

[Anonymous]

F500. Stealth layoffs yes. And strategic ones, those who didn't have the right or enough experience are also being let go but will be replaced.

Boom days of hiring is definitely over. I wouldn't say labor market is strong. If you look closely at numbers or what the jobs actually are, the recent report wasn't that great.

Am not expecting much bonus wise next year but am also not expecting doom and gloom. People being laid off now still have good chances of getting decent jobs. Just not in two weeks, maybe a few months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a manager and we had layoffs this past week. I had no idea one of my employees would be let go. Position was eliminated without my knowledge. Employee asked me after they got the termination call, if I had any idea. I didn’t and wanted to be truthful and say no but had to keep to the party line and not answer. It was painful. In hindsite, what should I have said? Employee was a good worker just overpaid and business cost cutting reason for sure.

I would’ve told the truth.

What would you have said? This will be me soon too and not sure how to answer. “I had no idea, I am sorry. I think very highly of you” sort of thing? What do you say when someone gets let go and you are in a management position

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:lots of large employers have been doing layoffs, i dont think its necessarily a sign of the company foundering as opposed to the overall economy.

Layoffs are strategic, to suppress wages

+1 And to get rid of over-paid employees who can easily be replaced with lower paid new hires in a month.

But the institutional knowledge…whomp, whomp, whomp.

doesn't matter .The economy sucks and it's the end of small business in America.

How does the economy suck? Record unemployment, slowing inflation, rising GDP.

I guess SMB can’t hire people for sub human wages anymore, so there’s that roadblock to their “success”

[julie73]

I'm sorry, OP. I know how stressful it is and the uncertainty. I'm in a similar situation too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a manager and we had layoffs this past week. I had no idea one of my employees would be let go. Position was eliminated without my knowledge. Employee asked me after they got the termination call, if I had any idea. I didn’t and wanted to be truthful and say no but had to keep to the party line and not answer. It was painful. In hindsite, what should I have said? Employee was a good worker just overpaid and business cost cutting reason for sure.

You did the right thing. You don’t want to open the company to a potential tort.

If you had admitted to the employee that you didn’t know about the layoff, they would then tell the rest of your subordinates and people would probably start jumping ship.

Frankly, the fact that you didn’t know the layoff was coming is not a good sign for your tenure. You’re completely out of the loop? They are siloing info from you. No bueno.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a manager and we had layoffs this past week. I had no idea one of my employees would be let go. Position was eliminated without my knowledge. Employee asked me after they got the termination call, if I had any idea. I didn’t and wanted to be truthful and say no but had to keep to the party line and not answer. It was painful. In hindsite, what should I have said? Employee was a good worker just overpaid and business cost cutting reason for sure.

You did the right thing. You don’t want to open the company to a potential tort.

If you had admitted to the employee that you didn’t know about the layoff, they would then tell the rest of your subordinates and people would probably start jumping ship.

Frankly, the fact that you didn’t know the layoff was coming is not a good sign for your tenure. You’re completely out of the loop? They are siloing info from you. No bueno.

Yes but do continue to protect this company that cares for you not at all

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:lots of large employers have been doing layoffs, i dont think its necessarily a sign of the company foundering as opposed to the overall economy.

Layoffs are strategic, to suppress wages

And they overhired and overpaid in 2020-2022.

I work in the tech sector and this is definitely true. A lot of those people hired in that window simply don’t cover their own salaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a manager and we had layoffs this past week. I had no idea one of my employees would be let go. Position was eliminated without my knowledge. Employee asked me after they got the termination call, if I had any idea. I didn’t and wanted to be truthful and say no but had to keep to the party line and not answer. It was painful. In hindsite, what should I have said? Employee was a good worker just overpaid and business cost cutting reason for sure.

I would’ve told the truth.

What would you have said? This will be me soon too and not sure how to answer. “I had no idea, I am sorry. I think very highly of you” sort of thing? What do you say when someone gets let go and you are in a management position

Yep. NP. That’s what I would have said.