3 ms·

Why? What's wrong with firing people during other economic conditions? Why would the paperwork be any different, whether it's a small layoff or a big payoff? C

by gowld 4y ago

Why? What's wrong with firing people during other economic conditions? Why would the paperwork be any different, whether it's a small layoff or a big payoff? Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V is cheap, Microsoft implemented it many times in many products.

t-writescode 4y ago
Humans fire other humans. Layoffs allow for severance and unemployment, which can make the pain of firing someone and all the externalities that come with it far easier for a boss to swallow.
munificent 4y ago
> What's wrong with firing people during other economic conditions? Layoffs have a huge psychological impact on the people who didn't get cut. If you do layoffs at a time when the economy is booming and jobs are easy to find, you risk losing your best performers who don't want to be at a company that fires friends of theirs. It's easier to fire people when jobs are scarce and people are already spooked and disinclined to try to switch jobs.
drchopchop 4y ago
Firing IC's at large corporations usually involves some sort of a individual coaching/PIP plan. This takes time for managers and HR to write and implement, takes N weeks of observation, and creates nervousness in coworkers who think they might be next. Much easier to do a Thanos-style snap and get rid of X% all at once, with no pre-warning or reasons required besides "challenging economic conditions".
therealdrag0 4y ago
It can be tedious to fire people. I know a manager at MS that has been struggling with a terrible performer for over a year. They are just now getting to the point of going through the processes (first gotta do RCA and try to fix etc) and having a paper trail down with HR to be able to fire them.
moonchrome 4y ago
If you heard Microsoft just did 11k layoffs and then you got a job offer from them how does that sound to you ? To me it sounds like I could be in the next round if I get hired on the wrong team.
- confidantlake 4y ago
  I declined an offer from Microsoft late last year, in large part because of earlier layoffs. I am sure I was not the only one.

by gowld 4y ago

t-writescode 4y ago

Humans fire other humans. Layoffs allow for severance and unemployment, which can make the pain of firing someone and all the externalities that come with it far easier for a boss to swallow.

munificent 4y ago

> What's wrong with firing people during other economic conditions? Layoffs have a huge psychological impact on the people who didn't get cut. If you do layoffs at a time when the economy is booming and jobs are easy to find, you risk losing your best performers who don't want to be at a company that fires friends of theirs. It's easier to fire people when jobs are scarce and people are already spooked and disinclined to try to switch jobs.

drchopchop 4y ago

Firing IC's at large corporations usually involves some sort of a individual coaching/PIP plan. This takes time for managers and HR to write and implement, takes N weeks of observation, and creates nervousness in coworkers who think they might be next. Much easier to do a Thanos-style snap and get rid of X% all at once, with no pre-warning or reasons required besides "challenging economic conditions".

therealdrag0 4y ago

It can be tedious to fire people. I know a manager at MS that has been struggling with a terrible performer for over a year. They are just now getting to the point of going through the processes (first gotta do RCA and try to fix etc) and having a paper trail down with HR to be able to fire them.

moonchrome 4y ago

If you heard Microsoft just did 11k layoffs and then you got a job offer from them how does that sound to you ? To me it sounds like I could be in the next round if I get hired on the wrong team.

confidantlake 4y ago
I declined an offer from Microsoft late last year, in large part because of earlier layoffs. I am sure I was not the only one.