It is hard for me to believe that terminating employees by e-mail or direct message has become an acceptable practice for many media and tech companies.
When a person takes on a management role and deposits those larger checks certain responsibilities are inherited with that role. One of those responsibilities, if necessary, is advising a person that they lost their livelihood in a humane way.
One of the most cited reasons I have heard for using e- layoffs is that it is logistically impossible to conduct mass layoffs in any other way. To that I say baloney! If a person has enough time to manage someone, they can find time to have a difficult conversation, even if that conversation must happen via video conferencing because of remote work realities. Using an e-mail or direct message to advise someone that they lost their job is just plain cowardice.
I know that telling a person face to face that they lost their job and witnessing the pain and sadness is difficult! A caring manager and supportive company can greatly help a person during the difficult time. Nokia and Philips Medical have best practices to layoffs where they give advance notice, generous severance pay, and assistance to employees with finding new roles within or outside the company.
Companies that use e-layoffs do not value their employees. When the tech job market tightens up, and organizations are looking for workers again, these same companies will be promoting, “our employees are our greatest asset.” With the website Glassdoor and other similar tools prospective employees will be able to determine how these companies really view their employees.
Gregory Taylor March 15th, 2023