Ambush Layoffs.
In late 2023, the company I worked for merged with a larger digital agency. This merger promised broader, more diverse projects, opportunities to collaborate with higher-profile clients, and the chance to work with cutting-edge technologies. On paper, it sounded exciting.
However, 2023 was also a year of widespread layoffs across the tech industry. Both merging companies had already gone through multiple rounds of layoffs in the years leading up to the merger. To expect stability moving forward was, at best, optimistic. While I have much more to say about layoffs in general (which I’ll save for another post), I want to focus on this key point:
How a Company Handles Layoffs Matters.
If you’re a hiring manager, you should also, in most cases, be the one responsible for difficult conversations regarding performance and, if necessary, terminations. If an employee isn’t meeting expectations despite efforts to support them—or if they have violated company policies—then it falls on their manager to address the issue directly and, if required, deliver the news of their termination. This is an unavoidable, albeit difficult, aspect of people management.
However, when it comes to mass layoffs, the situation is different.
Most middle managers, in my experience, have little to no say in layoff decisions. They aren’t involved in determining whether a layoff is necessary, nor do they typically get to choose which employees are affected. If they do have any input, it’s often limited to selecting from a pre-determined list of candidates.
With that in mind, I firmly believe that middle managers should not be responsible for delivering layoff news to their employees.
If the decision to conduct layoffs is made at the executive level, then it is the responsibility of those executives—or, at the very least, the HR department—to communicate that decision directly to affected employees.
The Ambush
I don’t claim to be an expert in HR, hiring, or firing, but I do have a fair bit of experience with them. I can recognize when a process is handled smoothly and when it feels, for lack of a better term, "icky". What happened next fell into the latter category.
In a 1:1 meeting with an HR representative, I was informed that the company had decided to proceed with layoffs and that one of my direct reports (let’s call her Jane) would be affected. I had no input in the decision—it had already been made. My role was simply to deliver the news, and I was given explicit instructions on how to do so. That’s where things became uncomfortable.
I was directed to schedule a vague and irregular early-morning video call with Jane. The meeting invite was to include only a generic subject line ("Chat with Jane") with no further context (see my post about always adding meeting details for more context about how that's a big red flag). Once the invite was sent, I had to forward the meeting link and time to my HR representative, who would secretly join the call at the start without prior notice to Jane.
I was also provided with a script—corporate jargon filled with generic explanations about "lack of available work" and other impersonal justifications. Once I read the script, HR would take over to discuss logistical details, such as returning company equipment. That would be the end of it.
To say the process felt impersonal would be an understatement. Jane and I had worked closely together and had built a strong working relationship. To blindside her in this way, without transparency or the opportunity for genuine dialogue, felt profoundly wrong.
A One-Sided Loyalty
It’s disappointing that so many companies expect complete loyalty from their employees but fail to reciprocate that same loyalty when times get tough. Companies should be doing everything they can to minimize future layoffs. Even then, they are sometimes unavoidable...but the way they are handled makes a significant impact on company culture, employee morale, and long-term reputation.
A Better Approach
As I mentioned earlier, I don’t believe it should be the responsibility of middle managers to break layoff news to employees. They did not make the decision, and they should not be put in the position of delivering it. Instead, this responsibility should fall to those who did—executive leadership and HR. If a company employs people, it should also have the decency to face them directly and explain why they are being let go.
How Does Your Company Handle Layoffs?
If your company has gone through layoffs, how were they handled? While layoffs are never pleasant, were they at least conducted with respect and transparency, or did they leave you with a bad impression? If it’s the latter, I encourage you to speak up within your organization. Sometimes, leadership may not realize the impact of their approach—or may simply need guidance on how to handle the process better.
At the end of the day, we’re all people navigating our careers. Most of us want the same things: respect, fairness, and a workplace that values us as human beings (oh, and medical insurance). Let’s work together to ensure that, even in difficult moments, we treat each other with the dignity we all deserve.