There Are No "Survivors" In A Layoff
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- There Are No "Survivors" In A Layoff. LinkedIn just had a new layoff, (which was botched), and it got me thinking. I keep seeing people who've survived multiple rounds of layoffs and say "I never saw it coming", when they finally get the news their jobs are being eliminated. But the reality is that there's no such thing as a layoff survivor. Everyone's affected. So it's time to take ownership back in your career.
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Are you struggling with your job search? Applying for job after job and not getting any interviews? Perhaps you’ve got a few interviews but always seem to get passed over for the job? Or maybe you’re not satisfied with your current career and want a change. Well, you’ve come to the right place.
As a corporate recruiter with over 20 years of experience hiring thousands of employees at all levels into major corporations, I’m going to spill the beans on how to get noticed by recruiters, start getting more interviews, navigate through each step of the hiring process, and ultimately land the dream job you deserve.
But that’s not all - I firmly believe that to truly experience career success, you need to think bigger. Multiple streams of income and budgeting are crucial to forming a layoff-free lifestyle and helping you achieve your goals.
If these are things you’re struggling with, that’s what I specialize in. I’ve got a website called A Life After Layoff. It’s loaded with tips and tricks for getting noticed, interviewed, and hired by your dream company. Make sure you check it out!
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Both my mom and dad worked for their companies for their whole lives, around 45 years each. This doesn't happen anymore.
Those days are long gone. I am glad both your mom and dad retire from thier companies in one peace.
To the people that survive a lay off, just remember the company wants you to believe that "we're family"
The Addams family.
And you will take one for the family🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Meanwhile, I've applied to 10 other families...
Everything is business. You are RIGHT.
Considering the horrible way my family treated me growing up, I believe that.
At the 2nd round of layoffs, in the company meeting the CEO said. "If you are in this room, you aren't getting laid off. This is our last round of layoffs". Then I was let go 3 weeks later. However, it wasn't a layoff, I was told it was a restructuring. 😆 Luckily I was able to find a better fit in a few weeks that was less toxic and paid a little more so it worked out.
super troll lmao
Dude! That sucks. I hope you are back on your feet. If not, might I suggest a recruiter who helped me out?
Same difference, right?
I'd be interested in knowing who that recruiter is for myself honestly!@@megabyte01
The most toxic thing is that you need to talk in Hindi to survive in my company 😢
being a survivor of a layoff is like being a survivor of a horror movie
if there's a sequel and you're still around, you'll be a victim
xD
Great analogy
I was laid off in 2001 and never put a company first since. Never missed a kids game when they were in high school, never missed a family function because of work. I guess I developed that quiet quitting mindset before it had a name. It has been a good 22 years since.
As it should be!
@@elburkey3981 If only it could be this way.
Exactly, and spot on. "Surviving the layoff" truly means: "keeping my job long enough to prepare to get my next job." That, and nothing more.
Damn right!
I was working at a company for 2 years as a contractor and then 4 as a full time employee. I was the number one employee at what I was doing. I had a rock solid relationship with my team and coworkers. I walked into work on day and my manager called me into a room and layer me off. I just had a 5 star review and now I was out. A few fe other people were also let go. I have never trusted an employer again.
+ got scammed for all those free overtime lmao
First hint was being hired as a contractor. Second hint was not being hired direct within 3-6 months. Third hint was outperforming your superiors.
Terrible! It just makes me want to start my own business but that takes time to build up and comes w different challenges…
@@summerjoy247 yeah own business is very difficult. Walking alone and trying something will work is really tough,. The work isn't as tough as the journey is. I've been on it for 4 months and I would not recommend it to anyone. Although I'm bringing to see the results and am quite happy. Im at peace despite instability. It really is much easier to look for a healthier job and with people that can communicate issues.
@@summerjoy247im about to start a coffee stand. I just need to save for a food truck end of next year
I "survived" 2 rounds of layoffs. I had been looking for a new job but the stress and work load just go to ridiculous levels , and then a really good opportunity came up and I left. The manager and senior manager were really angry at my lack of loyalty. LOL. 12 months later the whole department was sacked and out sourced to India.
Currently just got through my second round of lay offs and the department I was in previously is being pushed to India…. They also expect them to train the new workers……..
lol “loyalty”. That’s a good one.
Lol always the India route, then companies learn you get what you pay for 🤷. The best in India work for the giant companies with in-country buildings, it's a big status thing. The ones that get the outsourced positions usually come from the recruiting companies that lie big time about the candidates' qualifications, or come from shady "colleges". Talked in depth with my full time Indian coworkers about it.
Suncor????
Sounds like Lowe’s 😂
It is absolute greed when you see healthy company's that are very profitable lay people off, it's down right criminal.
Unfortunately if it's a publicly traded company it would be criminal for them not to chase the bottom line.
Always remember - corporations aren't moral or immoral, they are *amoral*. They are not bound by the same ethical standards as humans.
Top executives often exhibit dark triad traits, and the corporate world often rewards behaviors associated with psychopathy.
Consequently, it's quite common for companies to show minimal concern for their employees. Many companies are laying off employees despite reporting record profits.
The OP makes an excellent point. At the heart of it is whether so long as it remains profitable should the corporation exist to serve society/community via full employment etc or constantly chase year over year profit for the benefit of a few (shareholders)?
It's capitalism. And the corrupt capitalists write the laws so they are never accountable or criminal.
Define greed. It's very easy for an outsider to preach that someone or something else is making too much money as defined by them. As long as people are working voluntarily then there's really no such thing as greed.
One minute the bosses were smiling, cordial and supportive. The next minute I lost my job.
Bummer
They smile in front of you and stab you in the back at the same time.
Yeah supportive of kindly managing you out of the company!
Same situation for me sadly
My wife was laid off today. Worked with the company for 2 years. She was part of the 4 rounds of layoffs. After every layoff, they said we would not be laying anyone else off. So this Video is 100% Accurate.
I was laid off while I slept after 8 years with my company. Woke up to find a mass email that I'd been terminated. Not my manager, nor my director, nor my senior director knew it was coming. I had received 3 "exceeds expectations" ratings prior. The NET INCOME of my company was $13.6B (with a B) in the quarter prior to my layoff.
Its all about investors. They think that will attract them instead of innovation. These companies now are pure garbage. Specially the big techs
Sorry, but I doubt some - if not all your bosses - knew you were on the mass termination list. If they did know, trying to fight for you to stay would have been more forthcoming from them. But they did nothing much or couldn't do much to sway the Management, did they? Also, Management would not terminate staff on a whim - especially without permission & heads up to directors, senior directors & managers. Again, I'm sorry for your loss - they all pretended to not know.
@@rebeccaliew2247 You wrote, " Management would not terminate staff on a whim - especially without permission & heads up to directors, senior directors & managers." I don't think you're grasping how callous executives (VP+) at tech companies like Google, Meta, Amazon, et al. can be.
There is no loyalty with companies now
Net income doesn't matter at all. If you made 1 trillion but lost 2 trillion, then the fact that you made 1 trillion is totally irrelevant. Profitability is all that matters
This is why we should not practice company loyalty (as boomers preach). There’s no such thing as loyalty on a company that’s publicly traded. Look out for yourself
I'm a boomer, and I approve this message!
I'm 62, I'm included in boomers i never preached loyality. There never was such a thing when i was 18 in 1981. My parents were the loyalty generation. Not me.
Being laid off is not the worst thing in the world. Once you get past the initial feeling of betrayal, it forces you out of your comfort zone and to look at new opportunities. Indeed if you have been provided with a healthy severance and benefits, it can be good time to focus on increasing your skillset while still being paid.
Great point!
Thank you for saying that.
It's true. Of course the mental health toll is enormous, but the good side really is that. It's been 6 days since I was laid off and I've already done more for my career than in the last 2 years.
Unfortunately some of us do not get a generous severance. I was laid off over the summer. Less than 24 hours notice given and only month of severance.
In addition to your severance, you qualify for unemployment compensation.
Probably varies from one case to the next. My job was very niche and I loved it. It was well paid too. So far no other opportunity comes anywhere close to it. It's devastating to realize you might downgrade on every aspect. Nobody wants to settle for a 4/10 when they had 8/10.
My wife received an award and a raise about 3 months before she was laid off. They really had no good reason other than just cutting people. So to say she was “caught off guard” would be an understatement.
Whoa! Bummer dude!
BIG HINT: Coming from a guy that has worked 35 years in over a dozen companies through the years. If you hear any rumors about layoffs. It's going to happen. Start looking for another job (ASAP) and leave before they ask you too. Even if you are not going to be "Fired" yourself (this time). Because the company is going down and you aren't going to get a raise anyway.
Thats been my experience. I used to work for HP lol.
Yes, and always be cautious around Q4, after earnings or before the holidays.
Also, if the company isn't going down, they will lay you off if you have been asking for raises or they simply want you gone because they have a replacement in mind.
@@eXtremeFX2010I love the Egypt analysis!
Playing the Bangles single Walk Like An Egyptian on the way out would cause confusion for the employer.
I got laid off from my first job out of college during a round of layoffs and most of my team was laid off in subsequent rounds. A few months later they were rehiring for my same position and rebuilding the team. I know the team they let go was effective, and the layoffs were like you said knee-jerk. It was a real eye opener, and I'm glad it happened early in my career because taught me how the world really works.
I like your comment. This was a good eye opener. Always keep your eyes open. No job is ever safe!
Layoffs can be a shock but, sometimes they are a blessing. I was laid off at 59. I couldn't get another job so, I retired. It was a good decision. After 8 months of retirement, I awoke one morning and realized that I wasn't in pain for the first time since I got hurt in the Army in the 1970s. Retirement has been good because I had started preparing for it as soon as I had gotten home from the Army. I've now been retired 12 years and am enjoying it except that I'm aging fast. Good Luck, Rick
99 percent of people cannot afford to do that
@@laurasharp9488My 3 siblings and I retired easily. Our father and mother taught us to never spend beyond our means, work hard, save 20% of your take home, own your own home(no condos), and don't waste a lot of money on lavish vacations. It paid off for all of us. Of the next generation, my son is the only one who still follows this. The 4 nieces overspend. Good Luck, Rick
Most people cannot afford to retire unfortunately...
Especially GenZ with the absurd inflation.
Most people nowadays can't afford a vacation let alone save money... . Barely anyone nowadays can survive month to month...
@@angelg3642My parents and grandparents survived the great depression. I have seen rampant inflation several times since 1960. My father taught me that the the 40 hour job keeps you alive and the work you do after that gets you ahead. I started working 80+ hour weeks at 16. I did that most of my life. I saved up for things so over my 72 years I have paid very little interest. I started putting aside for retirement right after I graduated from college. I lived frugally and saved part of every paycheck. Planing ahead for 37 years paid off. BTW, my siblings did the same and it has worked for them too. Good Luck, Rick
Good for you
If i hear about a layoff, im leaving. Im finding another job, even if its a placeholder job and im leaving. If you "survive" a layoff, the way your management starts acting like they did you some type of favor is wild. Imagine doing your job appropriately and getting termed because the CEO received a raise so big, the money is messed up
Speaking as a person who has been in a volatile industry for almost 20 years, it’s best to just set yourself a calendar reminder every six months to update your resume and LinkedIn and pull any portfolio files you want to keep (if you’re in a creative field). Always be ready to take a knife in the back.
How ironic... a ton of people were laidoff at LinkedIn. 🤔
I was laid off 2 weeks ago after 25 years. Everything you said is the truth. My company had been doing layoffs at least twice a year for the past 15 years and morale was in the toilet. My number finally got called and I am ok with it.
Should have looked for the exit from the toilet sooner !
@@esioanniannaho5939 Not with 25 years on the job. Severance package was probably a blessing in disguise.
You beat the odds lasting that long, they really liked you
I am sure you got a healthy severance pay as an tenure. 😊
@@damoneymaker yeah, but then the government taxes the hell out of it.
There's a reason why these execs hide behind a ton of security. With behavior like that, they'd get hurt or worse if they didn't.
There are videos of people lighting on fire their bosses and executives while in their vehicles after a layoff… just an observation 😉😘
@@boydbros.3659plz link or you are lying
@@boydbros.3659 where can one see these videos?
@@boydbros.3659LMAO OMG
@@pdsCV this comment aged well
Right after Meta had its big layoff I was inundated with emails/calls from recruiters looking for people to do 2-3 month projects there for about 30% under the market rate. I was never able to prove that they were looking for people to finish the projects of the victims they just laid off but…
LOL projects like adding legs in the Metaverse?
Never trust layoffs to stop. They know you can be replaced and they'll be happy to do it.
First round
"this is not death by a thousand cuts, we are done"
Second round
"we did not anticipate the requirement to continue the restructuring, we are done"
Third round
"these cuts hurt us more than they hurt you, we promise we are done"
Fourth round (pending)
It’s the script everywhere.
As a "survivor," 100% what Brian says. After an initial round of layoffs (there are always more to come), I’ve always buckled down and worked harder to continue to “survive.” But at the same time the lesson is the moment a company starts layoffs, GTFO. Brian is 100% right: watch the company "actions," don't listen to the corporate "words." Maybe if the company is decent and you've been there a while and they provide severance, do you wait to wait to get laid off and collect severance? But verify if the corp has a severance policy. It's a risk: GTFO to another gig ASAP, or wait to get hit and collect severance but then scramble for another gig. Some shady companies will look for an excuse to avoid severance payout: cite performance, etc. TL;DR Layoff = GTFO.
Sadly so many trusting fools end up staying then getting laid off later. If they survive the 1st surprise layoff, immediately look for a job elsewhere which has not had a layoff in at least 10 years which shows they are better managed.
People still don't get it that business "failure" makes bank for a few. All your basic business courses tell you that a successful business is the goal. But, bankruptcies and layoffs can be very profitable for a few people who know how to work it.
All of the biggest tech firms had their layoffs (CISCO, FAANG, Microsoft....). What options do you have?
@@eminemkh he's just delusional bro. probably gen Z
When faced with a looming layoff my first reactions was despair and an almost total shut down. I know that there is no reason to keep me. I was never a standout employee but wave a layoff at me and I was done.
As it's been realized lately companies prefer laying off good workers than fixing their toxic management and it doesn't really matter if you put in a good performance or slack off as employers can pretty easily lay you off on a whim for any reason or no reason at all. To say that in order to maintain your job you need to put in a good performance is just too antiquated and not really applicable anymore (it may have been some 50 years ago).
It’s amazing and sad how often companies would rather keep a terrible manager and fire the team rather than keep the team and fire the manager.
@@Jebbisbecause the manager sucks up to the executives
Very accurate analysis.
The most traumatic episodes in my 59 year life were the loss of my mother to a brain tumor at age 14, loss of my father to liver cancer at 36, loss of a beloved pet dog at 56 & being laid off from a job at 40 years old... each was equally destructive to my mental & physical health, but the lay off happenedcat a point 9 months after the company moved me from the UK to Canada, after I had hired & trained my own replacement in the UK (a very complex role which took 2 years). The lay off turned my financial situation upside down & I very neatly list everything, even though the severance was 18 months pay because as a new immigrants I was fully committed & financially responsible for not just myself but my long time girl friend & her two children also who I had brought here with me... I came within a hair of loosing everything before I found a new job at the last minute.
I'm so glad you made it out ok. How long ago was that?
Taking care of another woman's child, why that's real dumb
@@Astrid-cc3mgimmediatecaftermath of 9/11
@perrycoffey5410 no regrets. She was a part of my life and long time & so were the kids.
Wow. 18 months severance. That's huge. I was terminated last Sept and only got 3 months. I am 51 now and don't see getting hired again. I'm in tech.
I just got laid off yesterday from a tech startup. Your video and experience are really helping to put things in perspective right now. Thank you
I remember that the company that I worked for had a massive layoff and had inadvertently laid off an architect who designed some important software used by the whole company. Wholesale changes had to made in the software but nobody had the knowledge to accomplish the task so the company had to rehire the architect with a huge salary increase. They also laid off most of their database developers only to realize that all of database code had to be updated also.
classic...
I hope the software architect was smart enough to hire an attorney to negotiate a contract to get stock options, salary… and most important, compensation $, healthcare after he gets fired next time.
Saw my partner go through this several times. So thankful that I was able to own my company of one employee (yes I could have expanded--didn't want the headache). I am an expert in my field. Happy with my life, turning away work, no thought to ever being "laid off". No silly performance reviews that mean nothing. Happy customers. Love my life. Working for yourself is the bomb.
If not then always have a side hustle. Ideas for one ?
For me it's always been demand and training certs required or other things I need to do !
That's definitely living the dream!
What's your line of business? What do you do?
Bingo......always best to own your own business (full-time or part-time) or manage a side hustle to have secondary cash on hand! You're never fully dependent on someone else this way and you can bounce from a job if it gets sticky!@@esioanniannaho5939
Layoff rules: if your company hints at layoffs, start looking. If you “survive” the cut, you didn’t, it’s coming for you too. Get your resume and references lined up. Start networking. Save your cash. Reduce your expenses. From my experience to your knowledge bank.
The second I see a company laying off more than 5 people at the same time I immediatly start looking for jobs.
I survived the first layoff wave at Lyft, but later on I was affected by the second layoff wave. The severance was very generous though.
You must not have been a part of the Lyft underclass
What also sucks is when you leave a long term (2+ years) and you join a new job and they lay you off after less than a year.
relax
@angelachanelhuang1651 easy to say when you don't have bills to pay. Im talking about bare necessities like rent or mortgage.
I freelanced for a company that did exactly this. They laid off 1/2 the employees and expected no one to talk about it. Even when I came in to freelance they would tell me quietly what happened since they did not want to be heard talking about it. I encouraged them all to look for jobs.
I found out after my layoff (salaried) they held interviews for hourly positions that afternoon. 🤦♂
That sucks. I've been replaced by people with 50% of the pay another time by someone doing 50% of the workload (the other 50% of their workload was someone else's old job), and last week I was replaced by nobody - my department was gutted.
@@obgfoster From what I've heard they are still scrambling to figure out who is going to cover what portions of my duties. In my case there were no layoff rumors BUT a different division had billions in expected costs due to a quality error, so it was a shock but not a massive one. Also further rumors is site leadership were not given a choice of who to let go, some corporate stooge gave them a list of names, and that rumor originated at a different site that also had layoffs. In my case I was already looking for an out so my resume was polished and ready to go.
I got a raise, was moved into a newly renovated corner office, and then I was laid off with no warning on a Teams call that was labeled “check-in.” My new, now-useless business cards were waiting for me on my desk when I went in to clean out my office.
That's awful!
This reinforces my nihilism haha.
I just left my company last week after some job hunting because my old org sent out an email on a Wednesday saying how great we were doing and how much they appreciated us. The next day we get another email saying that they were laying off 10% of the workforce and that those who were effected would get an email by 3pm (that email went out at noon). Then the email never came because of server issues and the “you’re fired” emails didn’t actually go out until 5pm. The next day the work was redistributed with, and I quote, “everybody will need to pitch in”. It was healthcare so every department got hit…except the providers. I tried to Sri k it out but I just kept feeling like I was on the Titanic so I found a new job.
I've been working in Healthcare for about 4.5 years now, and yep in my experience, the providers never get hit. Go figure.
@@TheScienceNerddAkemi Yeah. They cut people from the billing department and then hired out some billing to a third party. If you’re that broke why fire the people bringing in the money and then drop 30K plus a month for a third party? Lol. I just had to walk away.
@@steve6135 It's the definition of "a*s backwards", lol. You did the right thing though by walking away.
Yes, layoff grief of the 'survivors' is real. I think the worst one took me a month to recover. That was a layoffs round, that surprised me totally. And I tended to take layoff rounds personally back then.
As well as losing coworkers who get laid off is the ones who jump ship. Good for them, but it makes the workplace hollower and hollowed.
Our company had a sadistic practice of interspereing layoffs with rounds of hiring. And expected me to sit there and interview people looking for people who would be good to work with, knowing they'd likely get laid off (assuming they ever closed on the hire after making an offer)
I think this led me to just start rejecting everyone, do them a favor, they don't want to work at this company
rule number 1: only care about yourself in corporations
Layoffs truly affect mental health. It's great that you are raising awareness through your comment.
Bryan, you speak the Truth. I was blindsided by a layoff around early August. This firm had record profits and bragged about it in town hall meetings. Co-workers and managers are NOT your friends or family.
My company laid off a certain % of staff and then announced that they expected an additional % of staff to leave on their own… that it was a statistic that a % of staff find other jobs after a layoff. They said it was good for them to know that because that’s unemployment and severances that don’t have to pay. When not enough people left on their own, they said that we left them no choice but to lay off more people. Discussions among staff was collecting unemployment & severance gave people a much needed break to recoup from a toxic workplace before starting a new job or career.
I had a really great boss once who I know saw some layoffs coming. Our particular division was just one of 3 that she managed, but we were the unprofitable one. She gave us a 30 day warning to become profitable or risk being one of the ones let go. Enough folks jumped ship and found new jobs, that we had zero layoffs from that group. Then we became profitable. I still resigned a few months later when a restructuring put us at risk of loosing our profitability.
Don't know all the details but I would feel very bad about treating people like that (devising a plan to cheat people out of their severance or unemployment compensation) - but I'm not an employer. When I first started working mostly all employers were pretty decent compared to now-a-days.
@@maryd6745thered a reason they say tovbe a CEO u need to be a sociopath
No Company loyalty it’s a thing of the past as you stated. Very sad. You are right you should have a backup plan. Thanks for posting.
The C-suite never seems to be affected by layoffs.
I just got laid off after 2 years at a company due to them cutting costs after closing a round of investment. As far as I know, I was the only one (it's a small company). They deemed my role was a luxury that they weren't willing to keep. I was in the middle of moving houses, my savings drained because of all the costs of moving and my manager knew all about it. 3 days before he was asking me how going to get the keys went. The meeting where I was fired was set up a week in advance, he knew and said nothing while I spent thousands on furniture 2 days before getting laid off. There were some signs, but I wrote it off as me being paranoid... I thought they wouldn't fire me in the week of a move, especially since they had just closed the round and there wasn't any financial emergency. Never trusting any company ever again. It's always the ones that are always yapping about "culture of compassion" that do the worst layoffs. You should never care about leaving a company in a rough spot with your departure because they'll never hesitate to fire you at the worst time possible.
I had a similar situation
Lost 7000 on earnest money, or rather 7800 if you include the fact that I had to take a personal loan to pay that.
Wife was also pregnant for 7 months.
So...fuck em, I got qualified for medicaid, the government can pay the 43,000 medical bill.
Just put in for SSDI since they denied my unemployment.
Nothing personal
Got laid off in a RIF in 2019 after 11 years. It was in person and it was hard because I was upset not just for me but for my colleagues, some who had been there 20+ years. At least my severance package was decent unlike the poor lady on zoom, mass layoffs should not be done virtually….that bomb of no severance was so messed up.
That happened to me a few years ago. I left my relatively stable job for what seemed like a dream job. They laid me off 3 months later. Luckily, my old boss rehired me. I'm pretty unhappy in my job but I've been too afraid to try to leave again. That was 2 years ago.
Thank you for the “starting the career” comment. How tf am I not supposed to look like a flake when it’s shitty contract or low-value positions that are what’s out there? How are we supposed to look loyal when no one is?
I wish I’d seen this piece last year. I survived two rounds of layoffs at my company, with assurance there wouldn’t be any more. I seemed to be on the “do not lay off” list. But they they started picking off people one by one with PIP’s, and then my name came up. I had been a founding engineer, role model and rising star at the company, but soon on I found myself “on plan” and privately being asked to take a severance and leave. The layoffs had become “one by one” layoffs.
Thanks for the video. Just got laid off from my first role eleven months in, and now 150+ applications deep I'm wondering how I got there in the first place. The entire time, my superiors swore up and down that my department would be the last to be touched by layoffs. Well, I should've expected otherwise. It wasn't their only deception, after all.
You do not need to switch between cameras. Some things need no change. Like it the original way.
Great content as always 😊
Camera changes help mask cuts.
I could tell that that self termination story got to you. You’re a good person for putting out this kind of content.
After "surviving" 3 separate rounds of layoffs, I ultimately had 8 managers and 6 jobs because the work was still there. Then in 2020 my boss said "I wasn't doing anything" so she wasn't going to give me a raise. In 2019 the girl who sat right next to me quit because she got pregnant by a married executive and I started doing her job with no title change or extra money so I couldn't believe my boss said that. I wanted to tell my boss I was still working after the abortion because that's exactly what the girl did. She was crying everyday before she quit because it would have been her first baby. In 2021, my boss gave me a $20k bonus. Why? I don't even know! I think she was about to pile more work on me. As soon as the direct deposit hit, I resigned! It was a Tuesday and I didn't care.
Corporations these days are crazy as hell! They are toxic.
It's get even better after the 1st round of layoffs. You know that guy that worked 3 times as hard and made sure things got taken care of, but wasn't someone's "buddy" and was on the list of people to be laid off 1st...you're going to miss him!
Having just gone through probably the largest engineering layoff of my career yesterday, I think I agree with you more now.
There are no survivors. I am 99% sure whatever vision those of us remaining had about the current company is fully destroyed and a part of my enjoyment for the job os at the moment dead.
I survived my last layoff from my previous company. I decided to look for another job after surviving the layoff. I was fortunate enough to find a job pretty quick and I quit without notice. It felt great.
Even surviving itself is problematic. Your team shrinks in size but the amount of work typically won't reduce. You‘ll be squeezed to produce more.
Right! Added work...and if you cant keep up with the new work load..we'll talk about it in your yearly performance review😂
Everything you say is true even if your company has not done any layoff -yet-
You’re employed “at will” and the moment they don’t need you any more you’re out, that’s how it is.
You can also decide to be out anytime.
You’re just paid to do some work that they need… now…
You are right, an employee can get blindsided. What can help? Always being aware of what is out in the market, and staying connected to your network. You just never know...
Ugh, this video confirms my gut feeling. Thank you for this content. My company just laid people off a bunch of people in my department, everyone was completely caught off guard. The people laid off were not all poor performers. There doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason as to why they picked who they did. I “survived” this first round, and we were told there won’t be any more, but I started looking for another position immediately. I completely lost trust and do not believe more lay offs are not coming. I hope I secure another position soon!
i totally understand my dad worked for one company all of his career life and in my case after five year of working am struggling to keep my job
Companies today are all about chasing that quarter report.
CEOs only thinks three months at a time.
I left last year a company as I saw the writing on the wall and now they've gone down in flames with massive layoffs. I left as I went through that process once before and got caught in the layoff. It seems to me every company always seem to use the same rhetoric with the same buzzwords almost like it's the same speech or template in every C-Suite in a corner protected case with the words "break glass for CEO to persuade employees to stay and were not going to lay them off even though we are".
I used your website for help with my new job so thanks.
I was a manager back in the early 2000s. I participated in layoff planning meetings. The main concern from all the department heads was to “be fair” to all departments so that everyone took a haircut. Performance reviews weren’t even considered. It was one big barterfest. I had to layoff one or two great people because of fairness while other departments kept dead-weight employees
You did toxic management and became part of the problem. That's the same as betrayal
@@niolonq Probably the choice was to fall in line or join them. That was the choice given me in similar circumstances. I identified problem or under-performing people that could go, and said that after these ones I am next on the list (the people I identified HR had actually been PREVENTING ME from dealing with, one was a performance issue and the other was "padding" his expense account). I got my way, but knew to get out asap after that. Which I did less than six months later. Quite often HR has amassed a great deal of power and wield it ruthlessly.
@@capnkirk5528 that's not only about morals, he was "okay" to lose his good workers instead of fighting for them and at least trying.
This is immoral and ineffective from management's POV and leads to more issues for more people, instead of him doing something or taking responsibility and jumping out with his golden parachute.
Irresponsible and unprofessional management is the problem, it leads to layoffs and he only became part of the problem. You can imagine it like a snowball.
P/S
You did well :)
It’s funny how your videos come at the right time. On February 8th of this year, you put out a video about getting fired. The next day, on February 9th, I was fired.
Today, you put out a video on surviving a layoff and earlier today we just had a meeting where we were told that there was a restructuring and that many of our colleagues were laid off.
Crazy!
Brian needs to make a video about winning the lottery!!!
This was a very helpful video! The private college, where I work out as a professor had a round of layoffs recently… All of those signs that you spoke of were there! Currently, they are trying to bring the atmosphere back to a business as normal situation. But everybody is walking around, feeling like this is not going to be the last round of layoffs. I have been in kind of a state of grief over the loss of a lot of very beloved coworkers… Because the place was very small… And I recently got called on the carpet by a manager because I was too depressed. Can you believe that?
I have been through several layoffs in banking, each very different experiences. I have learned, always have your resume up to date. Always be aware of opportunities outside your company. Create a savings plan. Even with a nice severance you will need savings and limit excess expenses. Preparation will carry you through. Talk to a lawyer after a layoff, I was able to sue and receive settlement that was more than my severance offer. You may have a case. Don't sign the severance until you talk to a lawyer.
I've been trying to get my accounting experience this year and been laid off twice and fired once from three companies that really won't even teach me. It's been shattering for my confidence. I've never been fired or laid off until 2023.
My husband, either…59yo. Now all the sudden he can‘t do his job?
Update: just got a job offer again. 4th company this year, not including UberEats, let's hope this one sticks.
Great video. NEVER assume your job is safe. Always be prepared for a bad situation by optimizing your LinkedIn profile, resume, and keeping in touch with your network for referrals.
I worked for 2 years as a manager at my last company working crazy hrs till 2am (70hrs/week) due to limited resources and got laid off early this year. I now have a new job as a program manager and I barely work the BARE MINIMUM - my brain can’t go back to the rat race hustle mentality I used to have
They pay you the bare minimum they can get away with, so it's fine to give them back the same treatment.
It doesn’t matter how hard you work since layoffs don’t consult or inform your manager.
Thats what happens when you put sociopaths in mgnt positions
I am currently going through this right now....I never saw it coming!
It is crazy that in US you can fire someone on the next day. In Poland you have at least month of notice period, if employee worked more than 3 years it is even 3 months notice period.
Company might terminate your work duties (i.e. you don't come to work) but you have payment and time to get a new job.
It is guaranteed by labor law.
We don't have perfect system, but I'm so happy to have this bit of safety
So true about the work load not changing. I started at the famous ins co in Omaha just out of college in 1981. I "survived" 4 downsizings in my almost 35 yrs there. Should've seen the 1st one in '89 - we'd recently combined 2 depts into 1. Classic example of not needing everyone. One day half of us went to one mtg and the other half went to another. We were told in our mtg the other group was being let go. I think I survived because I was still young and not making as much as some in the other group. The other 3 downsizings were spread out over the next 15 yrs. But they took a lot of flack for these downsizings, so they changed their game. I suddenly became a bad employee after 34 exemplary yrs of service and was let go. I knew at least a dozen who suffered the same fate, so you know there were more than that. My last 5 mo at work were hell as they gathered more data pts to fire me and slowly squeezed the life out of me, then they tossed me out like yesterday's trash. I kept my head above water for 5 yrs after, now I'm fully retired and enjoying life. For those who think their work defines them, they're saddly mistaken.
After I got laid off, I had 4 years of rough employment at temp agencies because that's all I could find. The cool thing about it was that all of those different temp jobs built gave me experience in a lot of different areas that built the perfect resume for me to obtain a really nice job for a large company. I liked my new job so much and became loyal like this video for 11 years. However, My career goal was so different than with the job offered so I didn't look to get promoted in the company and content working there while I was pursuing other career goals. Now I'm doing something different that I really love.
I’ve been watching for over a year. Honestly, in my opinion … one of your best. Drop the script more often. Real. Certainly hit home. Appreciated.
Your opening signature tune and visuals are the best I have seen on youtube. And I have seen hundreds upon hundreds.
That video at 7:37 is absolutely brutal. To top it all off, they didn’t offer a severance. Absolutely ruthless, horrible people.
This was hard to watch. I’m still dealing with major depression issues from a recent lay off. What really surprised me the most, was how inconsiderate and frankly cold my so called teammates were. It only left me feeling that I worked with a ton of fake people who never appreciated me or my skills. All the glossy marketing promotions are really sickening when I think about their image and how they treat their “team”
Thank goodness a few unions are fighting for better pay &/or conditions for their workers. I started work in 1973 and have never worked under a union (and I don't believe all jobs need to be union), but having a few strong unions sprinkled around the country makes the work environment somewhat better for all workers. The worst thing I ever heard from my boss was ' well Mary, you seem to be the only one who sees this as a problem...'. There is only strength in unity & if there are examples out there of other workers being treated better, you can point to them when negotiating or talking to your boss, it raises everyone's expectations.
I appreciate your videos and agree with the sentiment I hear from you about working for companies today. My last employer/company I worked for was very rude the employees and constantly proved they had no care or respect for us. So different from my first job, 40 hrs. a week, overtime, call pay that was not a joke, pension, good healthcare benefits; corporate America despises its workers & make it clear to us every day.
Thank you for making this video. It is important to talk about tough subjects like this. Mass layoffs to boost company profits should be criminalized.
Not sure I wholly understand all the details but, I was pretty excited to hear about Elon having to pay workers who he mass laid off something like 90 days because of the law in that state (which he apparently did not know about). If you have 3 or 4 hundred people plus, all laid off at the same time the local job availability has to be affected - makes life very difficult for people with a mortgage and/or a lease, schools...
I was well into my job search when a round of layoffs came. Yup, they said we're not thinking of any further layoffs... got an offer and left shortly after.
And sure enough few months later, hear from an ex-coworker, they'd laid more people off
A former employer was based on the east coast and I was on the west coast on site with the customer.
The VP of my division visited me with the customer one day and quietly asked if my job could be done back east .
I applied for a new position that night and 3 weeks later I took a state government job.
Been 7 years, work remote, and I'll retire here.
The military actually has an old study about downsizing, which happens there every 20 years or so. There they don't really have layoffs but they can pass people over for promotion, which effectively ends their career a year or so later. The pattern the study noticed was that once they come down to the target number of people, they stop the reductions, but the number keeps going down until they are panicking to recruit people again (which is an enormous waste of money). The number keeps going down because the "survivors" lost their bond to the institution and start looking for other jobs outside, and then a lot of them find those jobs.
Having just survived a layoff session recently where i work, this is a wake up video i need. Thank you, your video is depressingly well timed.
I started my career in 1979, long before computers, email and the internet reshaped and in some industries (like mine -- the intelligence community) malformed the workplace and ultimately rendered our work effectively unimportant. I retired in 2019, about a year before Covid hit here in the US. In other words, I came of age in a different era, and I thank my lucky stars that I did. These days everyone talks about how terrible things are... the glass for most American workers seems to be half empty. Back in the day, the glass was always half full -- we were thankful to have a job. Promotions were handed out at a glacial pace. And perhaps most important of all, "feelings" were not elevated to the pinnacle of workplace concerns. When I see videos like that above, I thank heavens I am no longer working. I'm sure doing so in today's environment would hasten my demise.
I used to work with a major corporation (which is almost always a huge mistake...working for a company where your job is tied to a stock price is a bad idea). Some of the other employees who had been around a while told me about how HR handled a group of mass layoffs a few years before I joined the team. Essentially, they just rented out a floor of one of the main office buildings for an entire week. Each night around 6PM, HR would email dozens of employees and notify them to show up at that floor for work the next day. They were then terminated. Every night for a week people waited to see if they got the email. About 200 were laid off in that round, I believe. The ones who didn't get it were somehow relieved, but that's a ridiculous way to look at it. I was astonished that people would stay at a company that treated employees that way, even if they themselves didn't get the cut. I decided to look for other opportunities as the large corporation didn't really seem to look at employees like anything but numbers or lines in a P&L.
Laying off 800 with no severance is nasty
Is severance still a thing? I've had 2 layoffs in my career with none.
What is worse is being laided off and given two weeks notice and no severance. Having to hang around for two weeks is the wost. You don’t have time to job hunt and go on interviews. Then about a month afterward, they call you to come back and put your engineer seal on some of the drawings. Yes, I could have got a grand for signing my drawings, but if I got paid for it it would have kicked me off unemployment. So I did not charge them for sealing the drawings. I did get my revenge. My old boss had been demoted with the same corporate move and took my place. He had hired me and we went back decades at another company. He was not happy either. I came on my dream job and its only drawback required moving to Dallas. I set him up and he negoitiates a office at home and an occational trip to Dallas. He got the 50% increase in salary. This double loss put a big hole in the company’s engineering expertise.
The truth is, this why I chose to go into the public sector. I had been laid off multiple times in my early to mid 20s. I ended up getting into the public sector and I’ve had great job security ever since. The state doesn’t like to do layoffs, they’ll just shrink through attrition if they need to. Our main problem is we don’t have enough workers tho, not too many. Great health insurance, paid vacations and sick leave, and a guaranteed pension and student loan forgiveness. You definitely have to accept lower pay, but the benefits and job security can help make up for it a bit.
I worked 12+ years at a state employer. My sister told me I could make so much more money in the private sector so off I went. After years of multiple layoffs I threw in the towel and went back to a state employer. I did not take out my retirement money from the initial 12 years so recently I retired with 25 years of work on the state books. I am currently receiving a pension and paid health insurance so, although I didn’t make as much, it will certainly more than balance out. Best to ya!
@@jet4415 I guess private sector could pay more, depending on what you’re doing. But my salary cap is right at 100,000 and goes up each year with inflation, so I don’t feel like I’m sacrificing that much as far as salary goes. That is the cap though, so you have to work your way up to it. Generally takes about 10-12 years to reach the cap once you’re in a role. So if someone in their 20s starts with my agency, they could be making six figures by their late 30s early 40s if they worked their way up. Not bad, especially since I live in AL where that amount of money goes pretty far.
I was laid off from the company I worked at after 23 years. 2 other long tenured coworkers of mine (20+ years) were laid off at the same time - all 3 of us in mid-senior management roles. They hired *1* person to replace all 3 of us (at lower pay of course), and shock of all shocks the whole team is struggling. Now the ones who "survived" are looking at other opportunities, and I wonder how long it will be before the other 10+ year vets on the team either find a new gig or get laid off as well.
Why all these layoffs? All because of poor upper management.
Part of it is poor management. But part of it is greed. They keep laying off and outsourcing so they can keep more money for themselves.
I survived the first round, and the second round, but not the third round.
My advice -- if you are the one letting people go, or if you notice others are being let go, start looking right away because it's only a matter of time. You could have 2 years or 20 years at the company. They don't care about you, they only care about profit.
A+ So much good information here. Always be prepared to move, keep your resume up to date. Do not assume you will always have a job with your current employer.
You have said many of the things I experienced in my 20-year career. Your rant was MY rant! This hamster wheel is exhausting. While I am a fan of capitalism, the world needs balance. Today though, I'm afraid the biggest pandemic is individual profit and socialized costs. Why should workers in this environment have to foot the bill time and again for bailouts and tax shelters? Maybe some CEOs should go cup in hand for a week on the street. I bet they would all bail early. Workers are told to have empathy and yet why is this requirement absent for many leaders? Things have got to change!
Why has that happened? Its because we the proletariats tolerate the BS and allow that cancer to grow uncheck. As long there's food and entertainment, why would people care for their fellow serfs suffer, until one day they affected.
Loyal employer? What are you talking about? Corporations are for profit, period. People, workers, are simply something to assist this.
On March 16th, 2020, I worked for a cybersecurity company building the digital marketing department. Some of my team had been working less than a week for the company and I got an email at the start of the day since I was the only manager in the country. Collect all ID cards, lock the doors, and turn the keys in at the reception desk. Everyone was out and all of us were already blocked so no further clarification was available. I know who I will never work for again.
Didn't know they laid off people in the Philippines... thought it was a low wage country.
@@indridcold2872 Covid lockdown day
@@indridcold2872 every country's company lays someone off... unless it's a scammer's
And you did it all, stabbed your colleagues in the back? What a shame
One of the recent companies I worked for did a layoff round and took out a well respected IT director. I took that as my warning shot, so I found a company actively hiring instead. Great decision. You are always in a much stronger position when looking for a job while still employed. Nice salary bump too.
Companies are constantly looking for ways to lay people off. It doesn't even surprise me anymore when great people are let go.
Worked for a law firm, mid sized but supposedly doing well. During the pandemic they stated that nobody was going to get retrenched and that they were doing well. Word around was that they were struggling just Like many firms despite some departments doing well. However, they were making their Associate's lives a living hell forcing them to, in many documented cases, rage quit.
All the reasons they assume are "you're not good enough, you are a fraud, a liar, a cheater, so on and so forth". This situation was a gentle reminder that no organization has your back and that you're completely alone.
I worked for a company who did layoffs by spreadsheet. Basically everyone was called in at 9am on Monday with the director of the department, she said we are making layoffs of 20% and a spreadsheet will be sent to everyone after this call. If your name is red you are leaving, if it’s orange you JD is changing and if it’s green there is no change to your status.
Scumbags ! Anglo Saxon toxic culture. Bring in Robots as managers ??
what's JD?
@@alexandramarkus9987 JD = Job Description
Job description
I once worked for an executive who described layoffs as the curse that keeps on cursing. Employee commitment is broken, top performers start looking outside the company for their new opportunity and those who stay behind stop going above and beyond. The company is harmed for years until new (and naïve) employees become the majority of the workforce.
I'm in the military currently. Before hand I worked in corporate IT. My employer was going through a merger and then COVID happened. We had an uptick in termination tickets from layoffs. One day my boss calls me. I say hey whats up man. His response: "The bastards just laid me off over the phone!"
So that explains why I'm in the military now lol
Being laid off is still better than becoming a killer or dead
@@niolonqbruh you know how many positions in the military are just like logistics, tech, food, or support?
@@darkriku12Unless you're in high speed stuff like SEALs, Rangers, Special Forces, etc. your chances of seeing combat are very, VERY low. Most of the military is cleaning stuff and...doing nothing.
I just got laid off for the first time in my life. I’m in my 20s, graduated during covid. Never really been naive and doe-eyed. Not my personality, but I don’t trust a business anymore. Really changed my perception of everything in the workplace.
What I find incredible is the sheer number of very senior recruiters who also got laid off. I mean, some held real power and things had to be done behind their backs with authorisation coming from very high places. How did they not notice the protocols etc.?
Right now is a hard time for recruiting in general. Could be that they just couldn't find anything.
They got a golden parachute every time - like 12 months of payment + a salary rise before layoffs and possible promotion in the next company.
You will get 1 month of payments, and unemployment support from the government which is enough to buy water and cornflakes for the next half of the year.
@@niolonq you are out of your mind if you think they are getting 12 months severance _and_ a raise for the layoff.