Work
Life
Layoffs
Bottom Line? Most company’s performance- based terminations disguised as ‘layoffs’
I t’s not you it’s me, goes the old breakup line intended to avoid hard truths. Well, the business world has its version, as well. According to a recent survey from ResumeBuilder.com , half of all participating companies admitted that at least 75% of their “layoffs” were not primarily for cutting costs. Additionally, 80% said their company chose to lay off an employee when they would also have been justified in firing them. The reasons companies disguised terminations as layoffs included maintaining company morale (62%), avoiding wrongful termination claims (59%) and providing severance (54%). Additionally, 38% cited the desire to avoid hurting the employee’s feelings. The survey goal was to examine motivations behind layoffs, and data analysts collected responses from 600 business leaders involved in decisions to terminate employees at companies that had layoffs in the past year, the career-advice website said. Business leaders responding in the survey said the reasons for actually wanting to fire these employees were poor performance (78%), violation of company policies (46%) and attendance issues (45%). ResumeBuilder’s Chief Career Advisor Stacie Haller described it as a “concerning scenario” when performance-based By Jason Walsh
Half of companies aren’t forthright about terminations.
job seekers as they navigate their careers,” Haller said. The survey also showed that performance-based terminations were disguised as layoffs with great frequency. Of business leaders surveyed, 31% indicated that performance always influences their layoff decisions, while 51% said it often does. To view the complete report, visit resumebuilder.com/half- of-companies-say-at-least-75-of-their-layoffs-in-the-past-year- werent-necessary-for-cutting-costs/.
terminations are masked as layoffs. “Understanding the true reasons behind these decisions is crucial for both employees and
22 NorthBaybiz
September 2024
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