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If you’re letting go of 900 people, for the average person their manager is also being let go. In a good amount of cases, probably their manager’s manager. I

If you’re letting go of 900 people, for the average person their manager is also being let go. In a good amount of cases, probably their manager’s manager. I think it was a good call for the CEO to do it instead of outsourcing to HR or a COO. He didn’t try to hide behind another exec. Anyone being let go - especially at the holidays - is going to be pretty pissed about it, and it was the right thing for the CEO to take the slings and arrows for it instead of an underling.

devy 5y ago
> I think it was a good call for the CEO to do it instead of outsourcing to HR or a COO. There was actually a movie about these outsourced "downziser" organizations/consultants. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_in_the_Air_(2009_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_in_the_Air_(2009_film)
- astockwell 5y ago
  Office Space, anyone?
- A4ET8a8uTh0 5y ago
  Yes, but even there the consultant made a point about making the transition as smooth for the fired person as possible. The whole point was not to stir up negative emotions, which by their very nature are unpredictable.
  - usrusr 5y ago
    Sure, but the client still pays the consultant for economic reasons: soften the emotional blow to the employee being let go in order to soften the reputation blow to the company. If the employer does not care for reputation (or, what seems more likely in this case, key persons might actually like that particular type of reputation), why would they pay?
aaomidi 5y ago
Taking the slings and arrows for it by entirely protecting himself with a one way call? Nice meme
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
MonkeyClub 5y ago
Doing this hierarchically is already a solved issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Joz-tAsJ6as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Joz-tAsJ6as
dredmorbius 5y ago
Part of the 1:1 meeting basis is to address any concerns and address return of assets or information. In the Before Times, there might be a group meeting, that would typically be for a department or site. It would be followed by a 1:1 with a manager (whomever is left standing in the chain of command), or (fairly frequently) with an outsourced consultant (see the film Up in the Air for reasonably accurate depiction of this). Better did ... Worse.
adwww 5y ago
While true, you could do it in waves - task low level managers to inform their directs, then task the senior managers to inform the middle managers, and so on...
- usrusr 5y ago
  That's how you make all your most hireable employees leave ship first. If you want to retain some those are usually the ones you'd want to keep.
sweezyjeezy 5y ago
Counterpoint : this is going viral. The aftermath of that is going to be hard to measure in simple terms.
nine_k 5y ago
"As your manager, I'm sad to tell you this, but you are fired. But so am I! It's not you, it's the company."

devy 5y ago

> I think it was a good call for the CEO to do it instead of outsourcing to HR or a COO. There was actually a movie about these outsourced "downziser" organizations/consultants. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_in_the_Air_(2009_film) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_in_the_Air_(2009_film)

astockwell 5y ago
Office Space, anyone?
A4ET8a8uTh0 5y ago
Yes, but even there the consultant made a point about making the transition as smooth for the fired person as possible. The whole point was not to stir up negative emotions, which by their very nature are unpredictable.
- usrusr 5y ago
  Sure, but the client still pays the consultant for economic reasons: soften the emotional blow to the employee being let go in order to soften the reputation blow to the company. If the employer does not care for reputation (or, what seems more likely in this case, key persons might actually like that particular type of reputation), why would they pay?

aaomidi 5y ago

Taking the slings and arrows for it by entirely protecting himself with a one way call? Nice meme

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

MonkeyClub 5y ago

Doing this hierarchically is already a solved issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Joz-tAsJ6as https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Joz-tAsJ6as

dredmorbius 5y ago

Part of the 1:1 meeting basis is to address any concerns and address return of assets or information. In the Before Times, there might be a group meeting, that would typically be for a department or site. It would be followed by a 1:1 with a manager (whomever is left standing in the chain of command), or (fairly frequently) with an outsourced consultant (see the film Up in the Air for reasonably accurate depiction of this). Better did ... Worse.

adwww 5y ago

While true, you could do it in waves - task low level managers to inform their directs, then task the senior managers to inform the middle managers, and so on...

usrusr 5y ago
That's how you make all your most hireable employees leave ship first. If you want to retain some those are usually the ones you'd want to keep.

sweezyjeezy 5y ago

Counterpoint : this is going viral. The aftermath of that is going to be hard to measure in simple terms.

nine_k 5y ago

"As your manager, I'm sad to tell you this, but you are fired. But so am I! It's not you, it's the company."