Layoffs at big corps are not 100% based on performance. Clearly there are exceptions, some of which you mentioned, and many talented people will be caught in th

Layoffs at big corps are not 100% based on performance. Clearly there are exceptions, some of which you mentioned, and many talented people will be caught in the net. However, the typical way layoffs happen is that managers are ordered to submit the names of their most dispensable reports, and typically these are the lower performers. Of course, some of these will be high performers that the manager personally dislikes, and some of those spared will be low performers who just happen to be indispensable due to various irrelevant factors, such as specialized knowledge, or great politicians. My point was more that if you're smugly waiting for the best and brightest to lose their jobs at BigN and come to work for you for the same bad pay and terms they rejected last year, you're going to be disappointed. The layoffs are going to be limited, and mostly affect lower performers, while any high-performer laid off is going to get multiple competitive offers and remain quite picky.