When is a layoff a layoff?

Google
grYcdn

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grYcdn
Apr 5, 2020 18 Comments

Companies might want to avoid the stigma of having gone through a layoff which can be devastating for morale and reputation.

Thus, would companies be incentivized to find ways to lay people off without an official layoff (eg performance-based terminations)? And how far can they go with this?

I am hearing rumors some companies (e.g. Airbnb) are doing this.

#layoff

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TOP 18 Comments
  • Microsoft / Eng
    leet.this

    Go to company page Microsoft Eng

    leet.this
    Introducing a harsh PIP program is equally bad as doing a lay-off if not worse.
    Apr 5, 2020 5
    • Apple
      Tim Chef

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      Tim Chef
      Layoffs are a very bad PR for a company. Bad culture only affects the employees, not their customers. And that’s a big difference. And big companies are hell aware of that.
      Apr 5, 2020
    • Airbnb
      rob.blob

      Go to company page Airbnb

      rob.blob
      Airbnb is doing this right now. Ppl below “meets” are getting PIP’d but many are sticking to save their RSU grants. It’s so sad because value dropped like 40% and they’re probably on the chopping block anyway at this point.
      Apr 8, 2020
  • Apple
    Tim Chef

    Go to company page Apple

    Tim Chef
    Of course, companies which can’t afford bad PR go through PIP route. There is a non disclosure clause in severance package which hides the scale.
    Apr 5, 2020 0
  • i don't think this matters. Do you remember when Twitter, Snap, Uber, Amazon, and Microsoft had major layoffs? Probably not even though they had severe cuts in the past. or Google Fiber or more recently GCP? People forget.
    Apr 5, 2020 0
  • Companies doesn’t have printers like fed. They will do whatever is required to survive.
    Apr 5, 2020 6
    • how's Salesforce in this situation? And what other companies have enough cash?
      Apr 5, 2020
    • Salesforce is not comparable to M,G or A in terms of free cash. But since they are B2B, they have quite big contracts. FB, I don’t know the free cash part, but they definitely in better position than salesforce.
      Apr 5, 2020
  • Mapbox
    FXxm34

    Go to company page Mapbox

    FXxm34
    Well, layoffs typically happen in sizable numbers over a very short amount of time (immediately?). So in order for a company to do it, they'd have to coordinate a sizable number of "firings". You might be able to do it if timing aligns with performance reviews.
    Apr 5, 2020 0