Badly executed tech layoffs
I hope you all are doing well and welcome (if you aren’t new then again) to Dozen Worthy Reads. A newsletter where I talk about the most exciting things about tech that I read the past couple of weeks or write about tech happenings. You can sign up here or just read on …
I was considering writing a disclaimer each time I published but I don’t need to anymore. OpenAI now has a classifier to help you keep me honest :) It offers a five-point scale of results: Very unlikely to have been AI-generated, unlikely, unclear, possible or likely. This article is rated as very unlikely to be generated by AI! So here is my non-AI generated post 🙂
The recent tech layoffs and how they were executed made me think about empathy and today is more a mini narrative on the topic.
I met a childhood friend for lunch at the Bangalore Club during my visit to India. I’ve known him since we were 9 but for the first time I saw a different side to him. We decided to get lunch and as soon as we entered the dining room he was greeted by several waiters who he knew by first name. He asked after their families, their kids, and how THEY were doing. If you knew my friend the way I did, during our growing-up years, you would not have thought that he had much empathy. He probably didn't back then. I don’t know. Being from a rich planter (coffee farmers) family in the Kodagu district and managing a large business in India and being compassionate is not very common.
After we finished our meal, he tipped them handsomely and he kinda saw the questioning look on my face and said “They need it more than me! Ain't gonna make me poorer but they will appreciate it”.
We said our goodbyes and as I walked around the city in the warm afternoon sun I could not help but think about the recent tech layoffs. When someone who doesn’t need to be empathetic can be so empathetic why can’t layoffs be more empathetic?
My Linkedin feed (and I’m sure that yours too) were filled with “I got laid off” messages and almost all of them were polite and appreciated their colleagues and their time at these storied tech companies. As the saying goes, people will forget what you did but they will never forget how you made them feel. While one can point to a nameless and faceless company deciding to terminate thousands of employees in a country that loves litigation it ultimately comes down to people making these decisions. I think we’ve lost our way. Imagine Nicholas Dufau, an ex google employee who found out he was terminated a few days after the birth of his first child. Or Natasha Nesiba who was laid off hours before the birth of her second child or a talented engineering director such as Matthew McNulty. These are people, not just a number on a spreadsheet. They’ve been treated badly!
As I walked the city streets that are now paved with broad sidewalks a thought suddenly crossed my mind. Many years ago, I remember being in favor of removing the sidewalks for broader roads that could accommodate more traffic. Never once stopped to consider the hundreds of thousands of people who might not have access to a vehicle and had no option but to walk to work and would have to add miles to their walk. Just so that I could sit in traffic for five minutes less. I guess I didn’t have any empathy back then. I’ll chalk it up to the teenage years and it quite seems like Big Tech is living their teenage years.
To be clear I do not have an issue with the layoffs; that is a business decision and companies have the right to terminate their employees if it justifies their business needs but I think companies can at least treat their employees with a bit more respect. What do companies think that employees will steal their secrets or cause some form of damage? Well guess what? Pulling a stunt like this really damages a company’s reputation. Do companies really think that we as employees don’t have a reputation of our own to protect? Do they really think that employees such as Nichloas or Natasha or Matthew are going to do something that will harm their reputation?
These companies and all of us can learn a very simple lesson from my friend. To put ourselves in the other person’s shoes every once in a while. Not only does it feel good but it also makes you a better co-worker, leader, and more importantly .. a better human.
And finally quick disclaimer: None of the above are in any way form or shape investment advice and these thoughts are my own personal reflections and not a reflection of any past or present employer. This is intended to be a thought exercise. Nothing more, nothing less.
Stay safe, be well and have a great week!
