Layoffs

Research on downsizing, gender, and race.

Employers have a rare opportunity to recruit from the ranks of the world’s leading digital companies.

Six strategies to help you deliver bad news compassionately.

Especially if you have to deliver the news remotely.

When you strip away the fancy jargon, a successful business fundamentally makes more money than it spends. While managers can pull any number of levers...

Here’s a brief update on some research we’ve been doing on layoff practices. For a decade we tracked who was likely to be fired in Europe during an economic downturn. Surprisingly, it was not generally the least productive managers. Over 40% of European managers said they would layoff an older manager even if that manager […]

In this tight labor market, cost cutting is out. Championing employee concerns is in.

What’s foremost in people’s minds these days? Whether or not they’ll be laid off. What’s foremost in the minds of a growing number of managers? How do you lay people off? As the exasperated protagonist says in the current Harvard Business Review Case Study, “Why aren’t layoffs taught as a subject at business school?” Download […]

Gender norms make unemployment an unequal burden among heterosexual couples in the U.S.

Tyler Smith, the founder and CEO of the enterprise software firm Puck.io, is facing a hard decision. Just three months earlier the company laid off 20%...

An interview with former VICE Media chief people officer Daisy Auger-Domínguez.

New research suggests you can predict who'll be on it.

As a tech employee, Vivek Gulati has navigated multiple layoffs. Here’s what he’s learned.

The first article of this series reported that, traditionally, European firms fire employees by expense categories-the most expensive first, followed...

If Astrigo Holdings is to remain competitive, 10% of its workforce must be cut. Who goes, and who stays?

Five strategies to confront your fears productively.

With practice, you can deliver difficult news effectively and compassionately.

Letting people go is an emotional event — not just for those being laid off but for those who remain. Of course those who are let go need help with the transition to new employment. But the employees who survive the cutbacks also need reassurance about their own future — and an understanding of the […]

I concluded last week by noting that, sometimes, layoffs are unavoidable. Here’s what Jeff Pfeffer and I found were the four guidelines to making them run in as humane a manner as possible. 1. Prediction: Give people as much information as you can about what will happen — to them as individuals, to their workgroups, […]

Five steps to maintain your connections and reputation.

Rodey Wing, a partner at global management consulting firm Kearney, had to decide what to recommend to a struggling retailer client with over 200,000...

Chase Bank and Chemical Bank intend to merge, producing the largest commercial bank in the United States, the fourth largest in the world. Projected financial...

"Not another Bochum." Nokia Board Chairman Jorma Ollila was clear in the goals he set for the 2011 restructuring that Nokia's new CEO, Stephen Elop, had...

This technical note describes the practice of employee furloughs (also known as work sharing or short time work) including their regulatory frameworks...

This case examines the mass layoffs that swept through the tech industry (2022-2023) through the lens of four companies: Twitter, Stripe, Meta, and Google....

Janice Greer works for NVX Pharmaceuticals, a US firm with increasing global operations. Not long after Greer's promotion to country head for Japan, their...

In the evolving landscape of human resources and organizational development, the TRAIL Talent Management Model emerges as a comprehensive framework aimed...

Globally, over the past fifty years, more companies have used layoffs to cut costs during periods of decreased demand or economic downturns. But layoffs...

The fictional company Airinit, now a division of the conglomerate ArgentAxis Holdings (AAH) after a recent merger, manufactures air fresheners, and at...

In late 2012, Shanghai Euclid Printing Machine Co. (Shanghai Euclid), a joint venture between a Chinese state-owned enterprise and an American multinational...

This case details the journey of Sandeep Mathrani as he took over as CEO of WeWork, a flexible space provider, in the aftermath of the company's attempted...

Research on downsizing, gender, and race.

Employers have a rare opportunity to recruit from the ranks of the world’s leading digital companies.

Six strategies to help you deliver bad news compassionately.

Rodey Wing, a partner at global management consulting firm Kearney, had to decide what to recommend to a struggling retailer client with over 200,000...

Especially if you have to deliver the news remotely.

When you strip away the fancy jargon, a successful business fundamentally makes more money than it spends. While managers can pull any number of levers...

Here’s a brief update on some research we’ve been doing on layoff practices. For a decade we tracked who was likely to be fired in Europe during an economic downturn. Surprisingly, it was not generally the least productive managers. Over 40% of European managers said they would layoff an older manager even if that manager […]

Chase Bank and Chemical Bank intend to merge, producing the largest commercial bank in the United States, the fourth largest in the world. Projected financial...

In this tight labor market, cost cutting is out. Championing employee concerns is in.

"Not another Bochum." Nokia Board Chairman Jorma Ollila was clear in the goals he set for the 2011 restructuring that Nokia's new CEO, Stephen Elop, had...