Questions tagged [layoff]
Questions related to the ending of employment that is not "for cause" but due to financial or organisational reasons such as downsizing or positions being eliminated or outsourcing. Contrast with firing/termination which is typically due to performance reasons.
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Asked to secretly obtain coworker's knowledge before he gets fired
I was recently told by my manager that one of my coworkers (call him Steve) will be fired in a few weeks, as his last reviews were found unsatisfactory.
My manager also told me to "inquire and ...
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11
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Layoffs are coming at my company. I want to volunteer instead of a co-worker. Problem is, I am not supposed to know
About a week ago, I learned that my company was going to have imminent layoffs (think 2-3 weeks) through a friend in HR.
It’s not a surgical thing but more of a cost slashing exercise. Hiring freeze ...
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10
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How to benefit from being able to save my company from a disaster while being laid off cruelly [closed]
I'm seeking advice on how to handle a high risk opportunity.
My employer recently had to do some layoffs due to changing the underlying technologies used for its products (ie: moving from C to C++, ...
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11
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Doing Inefficient Work vs Eliminating Own Position
I recently started a position as the sole web designer/developer in a company with almost zero experience in the field, resulting in very little oversight or evaluation of my performance in regard to ...
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6
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What are some strategies to maintain morale and productivity after massive layoffs?
In what was perhaps a textbook example of bad optics, our company announced layoffs recently. To make things worse, the environment was such that many of us were personal friends as well as colleagues....
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6
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What is the difference between being fired and being laid off?
This may be seemingly obvious question, but I can't quite grasp the difference, and I also haven't found a satisfying answer.
Is it something like when you get laid off you still get to work for a ...
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4
answers
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If I did a good job delegating all my work to a team I built, and there is no work left, am I redundant?
I have been commended for doing a good job building a team and I currently have absolutely zero hands-on work. I also believe the team is doing very well on their own and need minimal supervision. Or ...
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9
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Probably terminated or laid off soon; confront or not?
TL;DR:
Saw some stuff that seems to mean I'll be soon laid-off; confront them about the fact I saw it or wait for the other shoe to drop? Put in effort at current place, or on interviewing?
To stave ...
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votes
16
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Why would company (decision makers) wait for someone to retire, rather than lay them off, when their role is no longer needed?
I'm asking about companies'/managers' reasoning in general, rather than about the policy of a specific company. This is something I've come across a number of times, in/about various different ...
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11
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How should I explain volunteering for future layoffs in interviews?
I got wind that my boss was going to need to reduce his headcount by 1 (technically three, but there were two open positions). I volunteered as all four of my co-workers just had kids in the past year ...
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Being made redundant, but asked to do contract work after finishing -- how should I negotiate my contracting rate?
I was recently given notice that I am being made redundant- basically because my employer is losing one of their main clients- and am set to finish working at the end of this week.
I don't have ...
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48
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1
answer
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Deciding how many people to lay off, assuming attrition will follow
From what I've seen in the US high-tech sector, unless the job market is absolutely brutal, a layoff will be followed by more people leaving on their own in the next few months. Are there rules of ...
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votes
6
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The company is probably dying. What should I expect and how can I prepare? [closed]
The numbers are looking bad. People are leaving voluntarily and involuntarily. What I hear down the grapevine does not bode well. There's a real chance that in the next few months to a year my ...
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6
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Offered 50% pay cut or redundancy due to coronavirus. What are my options?
My employer's main clients are unable to pay their bills to us, as they cannot work at this time. Therefore my boss is offering me 50% wages until the coronavirus goes away (technically for part time ...
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15
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Can layoffs have a "positive" effect for a business due to the remaining employees thinking "If I don't work harder, I may be the next"?
Letting go of an unqualified member is unavoidable sometimes. But my question is not about that. My situation is when the business is not thriving and my employer has to layoff people, anyone who is ...
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Adjusting to Friends and Colleagues Being Laid Off
I work at a research facility which provides a comparatively stable and high tech employment for talented individuals (not just software and not in Silicon Valley).
However, due to the shift in ...
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41
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9
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I told a recent layoff victim that his job was safe. Now what?
Preface: I'm submitting this question for a friend.
I got myself into an awkward situation last week.
On Wednesday morning, while I was getting coffee, I had an impromptu conversation with Bob from ...
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41
votes
3
answers
9k
views
Arranging drinks with laid off coworkers in close-knit team
I work in a close-knit team of about 20 that just suffered layoffs. Some of the surviving employees and laid off employees are friends, and several survivors have suggested arranging drinks with the ...
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votes
7
answers
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Among the first ones to be laid off temporarily due to lack of projects. Should I ask my manager for explanation? Is it time to find another job?
I was laid off temporarily (3 months) due to lack of projects in our department. However, what is concerning for me is that only 4 out of 45 people were laid off in our department and I was one of ...
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5
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Should I tell the company I'm interviewing with I've been laid off
I was working for company A when I submitted a resume to company B last week. Company B just spoke with me and decided to bring me in for an interview next week.
However, company A just laid off 75% ...
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31
votes
11
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What does "x employee is no longer employed by XYZ company" mean?
What does it exactly mean when company broadcasts x employee is no longer employed by XYZ company? Does it mean the employee is resigned or does it mean he got fired?
Note that I have recently got my ...
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6
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Why would a company prefer firing people to laying them off?
During the interview process with a company I once worked for, the company bragged about how they had never had to lay off anyone. This was a company that had been in business for decades and which ...
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How can I address and prepare for potential layoffs?
Last week the organization I work for announced they would laying off 200+ positions (which is 6% of the workforce).
Some employees have already received lay off notices while others haven't heard ...
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26
votes
9
answers
5k
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How to find out if my job is at risk of redundancy
We got hit with another wave of layoffs. Typical - comes Friday morning the boss calls everyone that still have a job to the conference room and give the news. However there is no assurance that there ...
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26
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5
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Volunteering for redundancy
So one of my close colleagues (who is also a friend I have worked with at companies prior) informed me in private that he was being made redundant and was asked to leave immediately with full notice ...
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4
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How much transparency about runway should I expect from startup employer?
I work for a startup as a senior s/w developer (2 years). The company recently made some people redundant and re-focused on a smaller product set because of lack of investment.
As part of a "get ...
23
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3
answers
11k
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Is it okay to ask my manager if I'm about to get laid off?
There has been a rumor lately about a massive round of layoffs at my company.
Some other company in a neighbor city has just opened a spot for a programmer and I could apply there. If I do though, my ...
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22
votes
6
answers
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Owner firing staff due to their politics: how to salvage the situation? [closed]
So I work for a small financial technology business in the UK, not quite startup size but close. We have a dozen staff on site and usually 5-10 remote contractors working for us. There isn't really a ...
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What should I do if my employer can't afford to pay me but refuses to lay me off in Ontario, Canada?
My employer has run out of money and was unable to pay me what was due on my latest regular pay date. It has been over a week and my employer has informed me that it is not known when my overdue pay (...
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2
answers
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How to motivate a team when everyone is paranoid about layoffs?
More than half of my team has been made redundant already, as have several other teams throughout the company. This is not due to financial reasons (we are very successful!) but there are some rumours ...
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9
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Why would an at-will employer lay people off instead of just firing them when the second option would save them money?
My question is provocative because I have often wondered why would companies lay some folks off when they could seemingly save so much more money by firing them?
I understand if it was a big reduction ...
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3
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Should I inform my manager about a potential job offer when the company is planning layoffs?
My company has recently begun a restructuring process which will eliminate 1 of the individuals in the same/similar role as me. Even before this announcement I have started looking for another job. My ...
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6
answers
4k
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What can I do to minimize my risk of being laid off?
The company I work for occasionally goes through rounds of layoffs. It has laid off a few team members last month and there is a general belief that more layoffs are coming. I would like to save my ...
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3
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Is there anything wrong with asking about job security?
Okay, so my company has recently had a bit of a "shake-up"/downsize. Many people have been made redundant due to quiet sales this past few months.
My role isn't "key" in the business' operation (my ...
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2
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Is seniority a legal parameter when there are layoffs in Germany?
In an answer to a recent question, it was stated that
(...) unless you are in Germany or a country with similarly rigid firing order
Is there a legally binding mechanism which takes the seniority ...
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6
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Former Coworkers Keep Sending Me Small Requests for Tech Help, How to Respond?
I worked for two years at a themed entertainment company as a designer/developer. I worked on a lot of complicated projects using custom electronics and/or microcontroller firmware. I did my best to ...
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3
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Stop engineer from planning "bully projects"
I work for a enginering company where a few senior engineers got into a large fight that caused a lot of concern. The more senior engineer "stone walled" the not as senior engineer apparently, and the ...
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2
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If the budget for an employee is accounted for at the start of the year, can that employee still be made redundant?
In a company, if a manager says "I am budgeting X for this employee because of this business case", is it still possible that this employee will be made redundant later on because there is no work?
user38290
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5
answers
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What could it mean if I am asked to hand over most of my responsibilities and become a "free resource" at my company?
I have been the top performer in my team for three years and was promoted to manager.
I have struggled a bit in terms of establishing authority for my new role and this has sometimes made my ...
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1
answer
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Colleague facing redundancy has asked me to accompany her to HR meeting
The place where I work is currently making redundancies. Cuts are being made and 20 people are at risk of losing their jobs.
I'm not at risk but my colleague is and she's been invited to a meeting ...
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1
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When should I address being made redundant when applying for jobs?
I recently changed from a long-term stable position to join another company. After 5 months in the new company, I have been told I am being laid off. I am applying for companies but it seems that my ...
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3
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Saying no to an interview after saying yes over the phone
I have been working for a company for less than 6 months. My team in office had a warning from management that there may be a layoff. So I was applying for all kinds of jobs mostly relevant to my ...
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10
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6
answers
8k
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Quitting instead of accepting Performance Improvement Plan?
I was spared in the recent layoffs at my company which is based in California, USA. First, they let go/forced out many leaders and replaced some of them. Then, many middle managers including mine and ...
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10
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3
answers
1k
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Layoff aftershocks [closed]
Just survived a big layoff. Big in the sense of half the company is gone from one day to the next.
What signs should I be looking for if they are not done yet? For example at the moment I have not ...
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5
answers
1k
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How to be valuable when automation & IT are stealing my job (and maybe my whole career)? [closed]
I am a non-IT employee, graduated in business studies, and work in a field related to customer relationship management. I have grown in this field during the past five years since completing my ...
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10
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3
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Potential Company Merger
It it highly rumoured that our company may be bought out and merged with a bigger competitor. If this happens we are presuming there will be redundancies. Is there a minimum time from a company taking ...
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9
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Junior peer (I'm a senior but not a 'line manager') who's continually convinced that we're all about to be laid off etc and keeps voicing it
My team/role:
I'm part of a team of 6 (1 senior (myself) 3 'standard' and 2 junior/trainee) that would broadly be described as "data analysts" and we report to a 'Analytics Manager'. Our everyday ...
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7
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4k
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Resign or be fired having recently joined a company as a graduate?
I spent a summer working as an engineer for a cool company working on biotech. They liked me and wanted me to return after graduation, I even got a scholarship from them (which I would have to return ...
anon
9
votes
5
answers
2k
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How to deal with understanding the reason behind a layoff and capturing unsaid signs / issues that could have been a reason for the same
I have been laid off, and I am really trying to understand the reasons / reasoning behind it. Below is the context:
We knew before hand that our company is going to do the process of layoffs.
As a ...
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9
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2
answers
879
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Emergency Job Searching Techniques
I was laid off unexpectedly last Thursday. The company for which I worked was acquired (I didn't even know this was in the works, and it sounds like most others didn't either), and the acquisition ...
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