There’s rarely a good month for companies to lay off employees, but if there were, January, right after the holidays, wouldn’t make the top choices. And yet, the first month of the year is historically one when many companies restructure, look for ways to reduce costs and ultimately, lay off workers.

Layoffs may be inevitable—after all, ninety-six percent of businesses downsized in 2023 and 92% of companies expect more of the same in 2024. While this is a difficult situation, some companies make it even more painful for employees.  

We’ve all heard (or maybe even experienced) horror stories about layoffs. For example, recently, a tech company sent early morning emails to 12,000 employees, letting them know they were being let go. But many employees didn’t check their personal email accounts. It wasn’t until they arrived at work later that day and couldn’t access the building that they realized what had happened.

We can be more thoughtful when laying people off, by avoiding common missteps and providing empathetic exits.

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