Layoffs may feel inevitable in an economic downturn, but the truth can sometimes be a little more complex—blame can sometimes fall on bad management.
Key Details
- Many companies are implementing cost-cutting measures to avoid further layoffs—like Google cutting back on tape and staplers in the office.
- In Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s letter to employees, he emphasizes that this year is the year of efficiency for the company. However, if companies were more efficient during profitable times, they may not have needed to implement layoffs in the first place.
- After the pandemic, tech companies saw massive growth, but the speed with which they have been able to cut programs and perks suggests that those extra benefits were not adding value to the company in the first place.
Why it’s news
Layoffs are still a concern for those in the tech industry as companies continue to cut back on extra spending, but there is a chance all of the turmoil could have been avoided with better management, Fortune’s Geoff Colvin suggests.
These company-wide layoffs may indicate that improper management led the company to this point, but the releases themselves can lower employee morale and sometimes cause more damage than good.
Unlike its peers, Apple has been able to avoid releasing thousands of employees. Its success has largely depended on the fact that it did not get sucked into the massive hiring spree other tech companies participated in during the pandemic. While Apple may need to reduce spending in a few areas, it has mostly avoided any significant disruption.
Layoffs may not be inevitable, according to Colvin. Other large companies like General Electric, Toyota, and Patagonia have been able to avoid them during much of the companies’ long life spans. Proper management and a realistic expectation for hiring plans play an instrumental role in preserving current staff.
Colvin attributes layoffs almost entirely to poor management: “These waves of layoffs are indeed a confession of bad management. And perhaps it’s time to acknowledge that the Big Tech companies created their own plight.”
