I worked with a product that needed a revamp 5 years ago. In tech, that's huge. We consistently lost business opportunities because we couldn't compete with the other players in the field. Their response, instead of investing in the product, elevating the client experience, and working on a product that meets the standards of the market--they did a reduction and laid off 60% of the department. They paid severance and were fair about it. But they needed to do better in how they handled it. First, I was told on a Monday at 2 pm, and I could tell that the director was reading the information directly from a script. (I like and respect her--so no hard feelings there) However, part of my severance agreement was that no one on my team could know until everyone impacted was notified. People were in full-on panic, and here I was knowing I was out of a job and couldn't even look to my peers for support. I appreciated that I was given notice and wasn't dismissed right away. But being in meetings discussing the future and what their plans were now that things were done, was cruel. The VP also called out by name each individual impacted on a call with the entire business unit without giving us the opportunity to tell our teams directly. When the CEO first notified us of the layoffs, he said they would do a skill assessment to see what other opportunities they could offer before letting people go. This didn't happen for me or anyone else on my team that was part of the reduction.
