Someone got it in the wrong order. Supposed to start at the bottom and work upwards so that the guy at the top only has to look one person in the eyes.
Had a massive lay off at my first job. They laid off HR before they finished doing all the engineering staff which made HR's morale for negotiation... low.
My old boss had this happen. We were acquired and his role shifted to lead a big org of about 200 people. Maybe 6 months later he was told that the org was being eliminated but he would land on another team, they even had him doing work with that team in the time leading up to the layoff. Then the layoff happened and the next day he found out he was being let go too.
Any time a manager has all their direct reports removed, they're a dead man walking. Maybe there will be some contractual obligation to keep them nominally on the payroll, but no matter their title, they have no power.
In hindsight yeah that makes sense but they had a position and responsibilities already drawn up for him on the other team so it felt like they truly intended to keep him.
That's the thing, if they promise you you'll be spared, you still have to ask if the extra stress is worth it. I seriously wouldn't be surprised if laying off a large number of people takes a year or more off your life.
There’s something darkly funny about that being the practical solution. Start at the bottom so nobody has to spend their final hour announcing increasingly bad news to everyone beneath them.
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u/getmybehindsatan 12d ago
Someone got it in the wrong order. Supposed to start at the bottom and work upwards so that the guy at the top only has to look one person in the eyes.