2 ms·
Yeah. Nobody likes to see people go, but it's better to cut 5% employees today, in reaction to the uncertainty, than to cut 20% in 6 months if the worst case sc
by gen220 7y ago
Yeah. Nobody likes to see people go, but it's better to cut 5% employees today, in reaction to the uncertainty, than to cut 20% in 6 months if the worst case scenarios play out.
It's a hard decision, but a mature one that minimizes the expected value of suffering, so I respect it too. Tough times :P
- ilammy 7y agoBut if the worse scenario actually plays out, you go on to cut 5% every other month, and end up with a net 15% cut in half a year regardless. But now your people are uncertain whether they should expect another cut, given the track record.
- gen220 7y agoThere’s a number of reasons why I think that won’t happen here, but you’re right generally. My disposition leans cynical so it took me a week of badgering leadership to be confident this wasn’t the case. I don’t want to dive into the details of our particular case, but I agree with the thrust of what you’re saying: cuts almost never inspire confidence. If you’re in a leadership position and you’re making a preventative cut and you’re super confident that you won’t need to make more going forward, you need to overcommunicate this, otherwise the anxiety you induce will reduce productivity and undo the cut.