pirate

🦜☠️ Account Executive

Silent layoffs?

I wonder how common this is in orgs that we do not hear about? What do you think is the percentage of people cut?

My organisation is going through yearly redundancy rounds... Bigger than anything anyone has seen before so essentially layoffs. I wonder why with some companies it's immediately in the news and in others it's not? Is it just the way things are done in say Salesforce, IBM and other 20-40 year old organisations? Is it because they can't take bad press?

My org looks to have cut somewhere at least 5% this year. Essentially a lot of people also who were recently on paternity or maternity leave got axed which to me seems unethical. And the departments and roles are there, just people being swapped in with lower salaries.

I'll end on a bright note, apparently in 2013 Nintendo CEO decided there'd be no layoffs and he took 50% salary cut and all board members took 20% salary cut. I would do it. I wonder why more CEOs don't

26

36 comments

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medhardwaredr

Opinionated

13

Director of Sales NA

United health group does silent layoffs and had some massive ones last year. Pretty sure certain industries pay to keep it quiet

oldcloser

Arsonist

7

💀

All about keeping the share price up. And more 🍔🍔🍔

unclespacejam

Politicker

8

ur dad’s brother

Tbh there are a good chunk of folks out there who see these layoffs in public companies as a positive buy signal.

There’s a reason why oftentimes you see a short dip and then a pop in share price after these kinds of announcements. Ie: salesforce lays off 10% of work force, suddenly share price dips and now SFDC stock is on sale and number go up 📈

oldcloser

Arsonist

4

💀

☝️facts

pirate

Big Shot

4

🦜☠️ Account Executive

Sounds like good a good for some insider trading. Enough people about layoffs so they can prepare to buy the stocks and then announce it publicly shortly after...

unclespacejam

Politicker

5

ur dad’s brother

Could be a good opp to exercise ur options

Revenue_Rambo

Politicker

4

Director, Revenue Enablement

If you’ve left and have options yes. If you are still in you will almost certainly be subjected to a blackout period and unable to do anything.

pirate

Big Shot

2

🦜☠️ Account Executive

Say I'm CHRO and know 10 other CHROs and CEOs... And then I just mention silent layoffs... Who would know. Maybe that's what they do at Davos

Revenue_Rambo

Politicker

3

Director, Revenue Enablement

All depends on how much stock they buy. If they start dropping 100x more their normal trading volume it starts putting up red flags. Enough of those and the SEC starts to see what and more importantly who they have in common with that company.

jefe

Arsonist

5

🍁

There's no way that DOESN'T happen.

I can't imagine the number of layoffs we don't hear about. Though I feel like LI is shedding light on those as employees share.

Revenue_Rambo

Politicker

6

Director, Revenue Enablement

I'm sure it's quite common. Think about all of the small (100-200 ppl) companies out there. In their case a 5% layoff is just a few people. Bigger companies fire more for cause and don't think twice about it.

pirate

Big Shot

3

🦜☠️ Account Executive

Didn't think of small companies at all. I think there should be a law that would force them to announce layoffs and reason to them

FinanceEngineer

Politicker

2

Sr Director, sales and partnerships

Why? Creating an adverse effect would create hesitation to hire on the margins.

pirate

Big Shot

1

🦜☠️ Account Executive

Law that would make them more focused on developing existing staff. Not swapping people as they please

wolfofmiami

Opinionated

5

🐺

My old company was publicly traded and laid off 10% of the workforce over 2 months so they did it have to make an announcement

unclespacejam

Politicker

5

ur dad’s brother

Likely it’s a requirement of Publicly Traded companies as a function of the exec team’s Fiduciary Duty. Prob also the same for high profile private companies with shitloads of VC funding, especially if they’re on track to IPO soon

pirate

Big Shot

3

🦜☠️ Account Executive

That's an interesting point, I didn't of this

Space_Ghost20

Valued Contributor

4

Account Executive

I mean, the company that laid me off in 2022 had two massive rounds of layoffs that year (one of 40% of the company, the other of 35%) and then did another 20% reduction Q1 2023. Early stage startup, no word of it on LinkedIn. Not a peep from leadership.

pirate

Big Shot

1

🦜☠️ Account Executive

Wow that's mad. I wish there was more information on companies who regularly do silent layoffs or law forcing them to disclose it.

FinanceEngineer

Politicker

1

Sr Director, sales and partnerships

Yeah, you see it a lot. Most of these companies are spiraling and are trying to create some kind of runway as they raise cash.

I saw this happen to a company I was at a few years back. Did the math that they would never break even at current strategy and helped pivot a couple of times until I realized that it just didn’t work. I left, and actually had my notice cut short as the leadership was weird. Eventually folded and sold a part for equity (no one got a cent).

I’m sure that if your previous company had to announce it, they would have accelerated the bleeding as customers would look to move and prospects would not sign.

SteveD

Member

0

Sales Director

I was in company 2020 to 2022 that would do few here and few there layoffs. I'd rather have the tooth yanked out than that slow slow slow painful pull. CEO should have the balls to mass fire at will. He/him company his/its show.

Space_Ghost20

Valued Contributor

0

Account Executive

In the email the CEO sent out to the whole company the day I got laid off he blamed the layoffs on Biden. I'm probably the biggest critic of politicians you'll ever meet, and I've never heard of a president I like, but passing the buck as a leader of a company is so gutless.

snacks

Opinionated

4

AE

"I wonder why more CEOs don't"

Corporate greed. Is the answer you're looking for.

pirate

Big Shot

2

🦜☠️ Account Executive

I was thinking I wouldn't do it ... Maybe that's why I'm not a CEO then

snacks

Opinionated

4

AE

Haha, sorry for the crass reply it just genuinely grinds my gears the shitposting from CEOs and the "woe is me I just had to fire 20% of my team, as I sit here in a hammock is Costa Rica I reflect on the things that matter and I am listening and learning"

Cry me a river and then drown in it.

Phillip_J_Fry

Opinionated

1

Director of Revenue

This literally just happened last week. I forget the company, but CEO said it was so hard on him and how they were good people. Then he ends it with, "I'm going to go crawl under a rock here on the beach in Cape Town South Africa.

snacks

Opinionated

2

AE

Should I maybe just... not post this thing?
No, it's everyone else who is wrong

Justatitle

Big Shot

3

Account Executive

Goldman famously lays off 10-15% of its work force every year without fail. Corporate world is dog eat dog and heartless

Revenue_Rambo

Politicker

2

Director, Revenue Enablement

Microsoft just announced 9% layoffs in gaming/ Xbox divisions. The explanation was reduction in “areas of overlap” which seems to be the new buzz word.

In my experience the overlap provides for bandwidth and succession playing. That buffer allows current projects to stay on track and for future project that provide innovation.

While it might improve the short term bottom line, eliminating the “redundancy” introduces long term risk.

pirate

Big Shot

2

🦜☠️ Account Executive

It was that news and the Nintendo act from 2013 that made me think of it all. But to your last point, surely people long-term wouldn't choose companies with regular layoffs...

SteveD

Member

1

Sales Director

We never hear of Pornhub or onlyfans having layoffs?

Revenue_Rambo

Politicker

0

Director, Revenue Enablement

PH and OF don’t exactly hire either. There business model seems far more like a 100% commission 1099 role.

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

2

Sales Rep

They just have a good process for publicity

HappyGilmore

Politicker

2

Account Executive

Company I was at previously did this and more silent layoffs after. Have heard of others in the SaaS space that do this as well.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

2

🦊

Damn it's ugly

Pachacuti

Politicker

1

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

I worked at a company which did layoffs every October. I learned this only in my second year of working there. I lasted till the third.

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