Navigating Layoffs and Redundancies

I start every morning assuming today could be the day I get let go 13 years ago, I was laid off. My wife was living on a graduate student stipend, and we were in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which is a brutal place to be financially unprepared. I had no plan. No next step. I was completely caught off guard. That experience rewired me. I promised myself I would never be surprised by job loss again. We have now had a 3-year crash course reminder: if a company believes cutting you reduces costs or protects the business, they will do it - quickly. The decision will not be sentimental. The sooner we accept this, the sooner we can prepare for it. What still surprises me is how many people treat career stability as something you focus on only after the crisis hits. People wait until they are unemployed to build relationships, reconnect with their network, or scan the market. But once the floor drops out, you are already behind. I usually share this with members of our community who have already been impacted. But today it is also for the people who still have a role. If you do not already operate this way, I strongly suggest adopting this posture: Assume job loss is always a possibility. This is not a "tactic." It is reality. Prepare for it mentally. It does not remove the sadness, but it can reduce the shock. Ask yourself: if it happened tomorrow, would I be ready? A few questions make this clear: Do I have a plan for the next six months, one year, or 18 months? Have I spent years building relationships I could tap for advice or help? Am I tracking roles so I understand the market and can spot better options? An employer can remove you at any time without regret. So why would you not do everything possible to protect your wellbeing? Forget applying to things cold. That is off the table as a consistently reliable path. For me, preparation is mandatory. Outside of my day job, I keep an active list of relationships I care about and invest time in those connections. This is not transactional. It is about being genuine with people I appreciate, and making sure they know I am there for them too. In parallel, I maintain an evolving list of organizations where I believe I could thrive if I needed a new home. Career readiness is not something you start when things get scary. It should be built into your life. That is how you stay resilient in an industry where change is inevitable. I have met brilliant, high character people who were laid off with no warning. I have ZERO illusion I am immune. I could be next. But I committed to never being unprepared again, and I hope you do too. Do not wait. When a company decides, you may not have the time you think you do. If I ever reach out to you, I hope you already have your A list, your B list, and your C list ready to go, especially if still employed. This approach has helped me only experience unemployment once in 44 years, even if it sounds eccentric or stressful. I want it to serve you too.

The hardest part of redundancy isn’t when it happens. It’s when you sense it coming, and no one says a word. You can often feel a redundancy before you’re told one’s coming. The meetings shift. The tone changes. Decisions start happening without you. No one says it out loud - but your instincts do. And when they do, the worst thing you can do is freeze. I’ve lived this twice. The first time, I was blindsided. The second time, I saw it coming and I was ready. That’s what I call the pre-quake phase of a Careerquake™ - when the ground hasn’t split yet, but you can feel it moving. This is your window. Use it. Here’s what I tell my clients (and once told myself) to do before the email lands: 1️⃣ Protect your evidence. Download proof of your results, decisions, impact -decks, KPIs, testimonials, messages. Some like to call it paranoia. It’s preparation. 2️⃣ Map your optionality. Write down three paths: • An internal pivot you could make. • An external bridge - consulting, project, or advisory work. • A reinvention runway - if you had six months, what would you build or learn? When you can see options, you stop feeling trapped.    3️⃣ Get financially real. Check your burn rate. Know your notice period, severance, unvested stock. Hope is not a financial plan. 4️⃣ Reclaim your story. “The business changed direction. I delivered X, Y, Z — now I’m ready to apply that experience in…” You decide what this chapter says. Not them. 5️⃣ Build your social CV. Start showing how you think before you need a new title. Write about what you’re learning, solving, or seeing. Visibility isn’t vanity - it’s currency. 6️⃣ Don’t panic-job. The first offer is often the wrong one. Ask yourself: Does this move me closer to who I want to be or just away from fear? 7️⃣ Leave with grace. People remember your exit long after your role. Professional, not performative. Always. If you’re in this pre-quake moment, you’re not powerless. You’re repositioning. And when the ground settles, you’ll realise redundancy isn’t the end of your story - it’s the edit that made the next chapter possible. P.S. Have you ever felt that quiet knowing - that something was about to shift before anyone said a word? #careerquake

I saw a post yesterday where someone found out they were being laid off when they got logged out of a system in the middle of a presentation. And another where the person's badge simply didn't work when they showed up at work that day. I think most people understand why layoffs are necessary. We may not like them, but we get it. We know that sometimes you need to cut expenses or you simply have a change in the skills needed, and we know that if you are the owner of the business, your job is to make hard decisions even if we don't always agree with them. But what I struggle with is the callousness with which layoffs are conducted. Layoffs can be done with care and humanity and it's a choice many are making not to do it that way. Some steps I would take if I were an executive navigating layoffs: 1. I would let my employees know they were a possibility as soon as the discussion began so they could explore new opportunities. 2. I would provide as many details as I could. Share potential numbers, which departments might be impacted, criteria being considered for who might be impacted. That way, people could assess their personal risk level and act accordingly. 3. I would make sure every employee got a human touch point talking through the layoff decision. No one should find out they are being let go because their email stop working one day. 4. I would provide strong financial support. Provide a severance package that accounts for the fact that many corporate job searches take 6+ months, and that unemployment covers just a fraction of lost wages. 5. I would support them with their next steps. Give them time to gather artifacts around their work, talk through what you'll share in references, offer introductions in your networks to help them land on their feet, provide job search assistance. And I would speak positively of the laid off employees externally to ensure that I'm not unintentionally making their job search tougher on them, The pushback I hear to many of these ideas is around risk. Risk that your top performers might leave when they hear about the layoffs. Risk that employees may be less engaged and motivated if they hear that layoffs are coming. Risk that employees may cause harm if they fear being laid off. From my perspective, that's just a risk executives should take. Your employees took a risk trusting you with their career; why shouldn't that risk be shared? But I also believe that a lot of the adversarial dynamics in the workplace stem from the lack of humanity. And if you treat your employees like humans who matter to the business, and you offer them transparency and respect, they'll offer that in return. Nothing is going to make a layoff feel good. But that doesn't mean they need to be cruel.

Being laid off permanently changed me—how I see work, how I approach my career, and how I prepare for the unexpected. No one expects to lose their job, but if I could go back, there are a few things I’d do differently. If you ever get that gut feeling that a layoff might be coming, here are some ways to prepare: ✅ Track your wins. Keep a running list of your achievements, major projects, and quantifiable impact. When it’s time to update your resume, you won’t have to rely on memory. ✅ Save important contacts. Once you’re locked out of your computer, you’ll lose access to internal messaging. Get personal emails or LinkedIn connections for your manager, mentors, and close colleagues while you still can. ✅ Download performance reviews & key docs. If you’ve had a great review or any formal recognition, save it somewhere personal. These can be helpful for future job searches or salary negotiations. ✅ Update your LinkedIn & resume regularly. Don’t wait until you need a job to start updating. Keep your profile fresh so you’re always prepared. ✅ Understand your benefits. If layoffs are rumored, check your company’s severance policies, health insurance extensions, and any career transition resources they might offer. ✅ Start networking before you need to. Even if you’re happy in your role, build relationships, engage on LinkedIn, and stay visible in your industry. You never know when those connections will be invaluable. I wasn’t prepared when my layoff happened, but I’ve learned so much since then. If you’re facing uncertainty at work, I hope these tips help you feel more in control. And if you’ve been through a layoff, what advice would you add? #Layoffs #CareerGrowth #JobSearch #Networking

You can be laid off anytime. That’s the reality of the world we work in today. And yet most professionals don’t think about it until it happens. I’ve been there. One day you’re working late on a project, feeling secure in your role. The next morning, you’re in a 15-minute Zoom call being told your position is eliminated. No warning. No safety net. That’s why I always say: never let your entire career rest on one company’s decision. Always have a Plan B. Here’s what that looks like in practice: → Keep your LinkedIn profile updated. Don’t wait until you’re job searching to polish it. → Grow your network consistently. Talk to people, comment, post. The best jobs or business opportunities often come from relationships, not job boards. → Track your wins. Write down the metrics, projects, and results you’re proud of. This becomes your resume fuel. → Develop skills or income streams outside your 9-5. A side hustle, a certification, content creation — something that no layoff can take away. → Stay interview-ready. Prepare your story in advance and maintain regular practice to avoid mistakes when opportunities become available. A layoff can remove your job title but it will never deprive you of your abilities or your capacity to transform into a new version of yourself. You should develop your backup plan before any situation forces you to use it. Your future self will thank you for this decision. Have you ever been laid off?

50% of my team would vanish overnight. HR told me to keep quiet. But I shared EVERYTHING – even if it meant breaking their hearts. Here’s what I learned about leading through layoffs: My team and I went through multiple rounds of redundancies during my time at HP Enterprise. These have been some of the most emotionally difficult moments in my career. I had no control over the decision and no power to protect my team. And – as a leader – I had to play both sides of the fence: • the manager who could only say so much • the human who deeply cared for people on my team My team was scared. Some of them were panicking. And I'm the only one they can go to for answers. Here's how I've best found to approach these situations: 1) Share what you can, even when it feels risky. When people’s livelihoods are at stake, the last thing they need is vague statements and corporate fluff. So, I pushed internally to get as much info as I was legally allowed to share: • Who's impacted? • How many people? • When will decisions be made? Anything I could share, I did — no sugarcoating. I was upfront about what I knew, what I didn't, and what I was working to find out. Some of my fellow managers kept it close to their chest. But in these moments, silence feels like betrayal. Giving people clarity shows that you care and builds trust, even in difficult moments. 2) Prioritise your team as people, not just employees. There's a difference between what you HAVE to do as a manager and what you CHOOSE to do as a leader. I focused on the latter. My team was scattered across the country, so I: • travelled to see people in person • planned low-stakes team hangouts (on Teams) • held space for venting and honest conversations When you’re under threat of redundancy, even a 15-minute chat with your manager can be grounding. I wanted to remind people they still mattered as humans, not just headcount. 3) Don't wait to talk about the "what ifs." Even before we knew who might be impacted, I started conversations about next steps. • how to find a new role • where the market was moving • what good networking looked like I didn’t want anyone to feel like they were being held back or strung along. Sounds counterintuitive—but it helped. People felt less trapped, more prepared. Less anxious, more in control. If someone did end up being affected, they weren’t starting from zero. — If you're a leader reading this: You can't control corporate decisions, but you CAN control how you show up for your people. It's okay to not know all the answers. Show up, be honest, and show that you care. That alone can make more of a difference than you think.

I was Co-founder & CEO at a fintech called Payability. We provided over $6B in financing to eComm sellers. In order to return to profitability, last year I had to lay off 60% of our staff. I used these 7 guiding principles to deliver the news and drive the company forward: 1. Don't be the victim This layoff may be painful for me, but it pales in comparison to the disruption I’m causing for the people I’m letting go. Don’t make this day about me. Don’t talk about how hard it was to make the decision. Focus on the team and their pain. 2. Deliver the news personally The CEO needs to look everyone in the eye and deliver this news as clearly and as compassionately as possible. Hiding behind your HR team to deliver the news creates an insulation around you. It will lead to toxic decision-making. 3. It's not their fault Make sure the team knows this is not their fault or due to their job performance. I've been fired more than once, and each time I questioned what I did wrong. It's human nature. Repeat that message to those who stay and especially to those let go. 4. Take ownership and apologize Saying sorry is NOT a sign of weakness. It's a sign of self-awareness. We got here because of decisions I made. Everyone on the team already knows that. Not admitting that is a huge credibility-destroyer. 5. Lead with humanity and compassion Yes, this is a business decision. But hiding behind that is corporate cowardice. This decision will have a tangible impact on real people. Own that. Do everything possible to meet folks on the emotional level they need at this time. 6. Be generous with severance Compassion is nice, but cash pays the bills. → Be generous with severance → Pay out full bonuses for prior periods → Provide placement services This is a critically important signal to the rest of the team that remains. 7. Focus on the road, not on the ditch When you're going fast into a corner, staring at a ditch you're trying to avoid will often make you hit it. Focus on the road. Put your intention on where you want to go, not on what you want to avoid. (Cont'd) The same principle applies to startup leadership. The remaining team is your road ahead. They are people, so meet them on a personal level and focus your intention on them. Make sure they have a renewed sense of purpose and a clear vision for what’s ahead.

If layoffs are the new normal, then how we do them must evolve too. Because right now, they feel less like a business adjustment…and more like a corporate ambush. 🔴 A sudden 15-minute call 🔴 A script read in a robotic voice 🔴 Immediate cut-off And while all eyes are on the people being let go, we forget about those who stay behind. The ones who stay don’t feel lucky. They feel distrust. Fear. Psychological safety evaporates. Many stay back simply because they don’t have better options and work in constant anxiety that they’ll be next. This isn’t just bad for morale. It’s bad for business. If we can’t avoid layoffs, can we at least do them better? 🟢 A team-wide heads-up: “Some roles will be impacted. Here’s why.” 🟢 A clear explanation to those affected. Even if the decision is final, people deserve to know why their name was on the list. 🟢 Time to transition their work. Let them hand it over with dignity, not leave feeling like they were a liability this whole time whose contributions didn’t matter. 🟢 A farewell, or a goodbye. Just a simple acknowledgment: "You mattered here." Layoffs shouldn’t feel like a coup. And for those who remain, the message shouldn’t be: "You're a liability." It should be: "You matter. And if your time ever comes, we’ll treat you like a human being." #layoffs #leadership #workculture #empathy

Are you worried about layoffs at your job? Here are 10 steps to prepare: ✅ BRAG BOOK: This is a document where you track all your accomplishments in real time. Whenever you finish a project, solve a problem, or a get a kind message from a colleague, write it down in your Brag Book. It doesn't have a to be a big project either - write down all your accomplishments, big or small! ✅ Find your original job description - have you done more than what was listed? That will inspire your Brag Book. ✅ If you are laid off, you will likely immediately lose access to your company account. Start a folder now and stash all your work and impressive projects, so that you have access to them later. ✅ Update your Linkedin profile and be active on it. Comment on other posts, write your own posts, reconnect with your 1st connections and make new connections - especially at companies that interest you. ✅ Where else might you want to work? Identify five other companies that you think would be great places to work. Scan the “Best Places to Work” lists, search by your area, talk with your friends who are happily employed … then start following that company on LinkedIn, turn on the “I’m interested” button on their company page, and make connections with people who work there. ✅ Reinvigorate your network. Scan your email and mobile contacts and make a list of people to contact. Check in with them, even if you haven’t spoken in years. I wrote a post with advice for reaching out to your network, link in comments ✅ Evaluate your skills - are there any areas where you can improve? How about some upskilling? Can you take a class, workshop, or certificate program? (Can your employer pay for it?) ✅ Mind your budget - build up your savings and stock your emergency fund. ✅ Make doctors’ appointments - if you get medical insurance through your job, book doctor appointments you’ve been putting off. ✅ Don’t worry about your resume yet. Yes, a good resume is important to your job search, but so is a strong LinkedIn profile and a robust network. Too many people focus solely on their resume, but there are other things to consider too. Plus, the work you put in your Brag Book, Story Stash, and LinkedIn profile will inform your resume updates. FINAL NOTE: If you work for a company with over 100 full-time employees, use the WARN Act and track your company. (The company has to report upcoming layoffs to their state, so you can track in the info for your state, I also like layoffs dot fyi.) I'm rooting for you. 👊 ♻ Please repost if you think this advice will help others. ***** Hi, have we met? I'm Emily and I'm on a mission to get the #greenbannergang back to work, one actionable step at a time. #jobsearch #jobhunt #jobseekers

You can't protect culture during layoffs - but you can preserve trust. Just look at Target, Amazon, GM, or any of the dozens of headlines about layoffs that just keep coming. The playbook rarely changes: vague statements about "restructuring," corporate-speak about "realignment," and employees left wondering what just happened - and whether they're next. Culture is made up of people, and you can't realistically expect to keep the culture you had when the people are gone. But if you and your leadership team work to maintain trust during difficult transitions, you make it easier to rebuild that culture. I've seen it done both ways. The difference between destruction and preservation comes down to three things: honesty, empathy, and alignment. Look at how HP handled layoffs years ago. Leadership didn't hide behind euphemisms. They explained why cuts were necessary, how decisions were made, and what the company would look like on the other side. They treated people like adults who deserved the truth. Good leaders understand that layoffs are a moment to reinforce the social contract rather than obliterate it. They communicate: "We didn't want to do this - the macro environment forced our hand - but it doesn't change who we are or what we stand for." Think of it like ending a relationship. You can do it with dignity and respect, or you can do it in a way that’s hurtful and leaves the other person bitter. Either way, the relationship ends, but only one approach lets both parties move forward intact. If your people don't understand why layoffs are happening and where your company is headed, you’ll lose the trust of everyone who remains. And trust, unlike a workforce, can't be rebuilt with another hiring spree.