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Key points
- Downsizing demagogues issue an abrupt edict resulting in eviction and termination of hundreds to thousands of employees. Is there an alternative?
- The pain of a downsizing shock wave turns toxic impacting families of terminated employees and striking fear into those who survived the cut.
- Downsizing demagogues turn toxic with social media doing damage to the brand. Trust is destroyed and the venom of betrayal lurks.
Corporate downsizings are on the rise. CEOs face urgent crises culminating in massive layoffs. Pandemic pressures have devastated the airlines, hospitality and tourism, banking, technology and transport industries. Shareholders’ financial profits and stock valuations place enormous pressures upon business leaders to increasingly turn to downsizings as a devil’s bargain in turbulent times. Are downsizings at global corporations a top-down, totalitarian quick fix or a gentler, humane parting with esteemed and beloved employees? Will the act of a massive decoupling be driven by pure financial results or woven with compassion?
Of serious concern are those downsizings that resemble a sudden edict issued by a demagogue. A case in point was the December 2021 firing of 900 employees over a Zoom call. Better.com, the mortgage lender, abruptly terminated the employees just before the holidays via a now notorious Zoom webinar. A fired employee released a video of the Zoom call. Controversy and rage ensued across the global media.
Targeted employees may be dazed, shocked and 90% unprepared for a sudden termination of their professional worth and dignity. Displays of depression, alienation, anger, aggression and retaliation are foremost in a repertoire of behaviors reported by human resource specialists. The damage escalates wildly via social media. A nasty downsizing turns viral fueled by unyielding toxic leaders who disengage, detach and manage by not walking around (MBNWA).
In the extreme the sudden elimination of hundreds or thousands of employees approximates an eviction notice effective immediately. The egregious, urgent, unannounced downsizing is becoming commonplace and may be likened to an act of blatant demagoguery. It smacks of emulating the behavior of a political dictator. An edict is issued and X number of hours are designated for removing employees from the workplace. It is a forced mass evacuation.
Downsizing demagogues eliminate communication with employees. Dialogue is understood to be inappropriate. Humanity and empathy are designated as irrelevant, trivial and subject to ridicule. It is a demagogue’s top-down vendetta. No conversation, questioning or dialogue is allowed. Increasing the flow of shareholders’ returns and recouping and growing financial capital dwarfs any mention of the rape and pilfering of human and social capital.
The pain of a downsizing shock wave quickly turns toxic impacting the families of terminated employees as well as those professionals who were “fortunate enough” to survive the termination. Survivors wonder whether they will soon be next. Fear circulates as to whether workloads will be increased to 125 or 150%. Streams of resignations follow. Fidelity between company and employee is torn and degraded. Trust of leadership is eroded beyond repair. And a voracious social media swoops in to negatively impact the demagogue’s brand and stock.
Yes, downsizings are an increasingly acceptable and viable global option. Why? Pressures on corporate leadership have been particularly acute during the pandemic years. But are there alternatives to the dictatorial and shocking dismissal of 300 or 3,000 employees? Were recent terminations acts of demagoguery resulting in abrupt mass extinctions of professionals that will in turn terminally damage a brand? Are there downsizing options? Were mass layoffs handled in a patient and humane fashion seeded with months of preparation and notice to employees?
I implore bosses and companies to consider the alternative of a humane downsizing agenda. At stake is not a debate on capitalism or the ethics of downsizing practice, but rather my urgent concerns over how downsizings are strategized and carried out.
Abrupt edicts are humiliating and hurtful. In turn, leader and company pay a heavy price with slim prospects for after-the-fact apologies and corrective measures. A Zoom call termination cannot be reversed. The damage is already done. A destructive consequence of a downsizing demagogue is that trust for CEOs and Executive Boards fall to a new low.
Social media is lit up with insider reports and testimonials on acute agonies of mass employee layoffs. The venom of betrayal turns viral and toxic. Some among the rejected want to desperately return the favor. High risk, violent retaliation may be ensuing. Sparks fly. Egos, well-being, careers and loved ones deeply suffer. Provisions, safety nets and coaching for corporate victims are a scarce commodity and at best an afterthought.
What are the alternatives to abrupt and painful downsizing demagogues? Can we strategize a kinder and gentler, approach to downsizing? A humanistic downsizing alternative based on research findings and consultations is of highest priority.
References
Companies that Announced Major Layoffs. (2022, February 24). Retrieved March 2022, from Intellizence website: https://intellizence.com/insights/layoff-downsizing/major-companies-tha…
Goldman, A. (2009). Transforming Toxic Leaders. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.
Goldman, A. (2009). Destructive Leaders and Dysfunctional Organizations. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
