I met one of my friends from a top MNC company that is currently undergoing significant organizational changes and layoffs. Recently, it was also in the news that the company is laying off about 20000 employees across the world. This is a huge number, and since the announcement, many people have started fearing that they might be the one. My friend is in a senior position in the company and is managing many employees under him. He mentioned that even though if someone is in proper client billing, HR takes the decision and calls out for them.
This creates huge pressure on the managers because there are several things that a manager has to do. They don't know in what evaluation they remove someone from the job, but if that happens, the manager will have to look for a replacement resource and do the KT and get them started. It can take a lot of time. There is also no guarantee that the newly hired resource would be performing well, and if that does not happen, they have to look for another resource who would be the best fit. This is a tough position for managers.
The other biggest problem for the manager is that they would have hired someone or moved someone from a different team to their project by giving lots of promises to the employee. Now, if suddenly the HR decides to remove the employee or lay off someone, it hits hard on the manager because all the promises made at the time of hiring would be broken and sometimes the employee might have several commitments in their life, and if the income suddenly stops, it becomes a very big problem.
I have seen some layoffs in corporate companies where the manager takes the employee for a tea break outside the building, and they just collect the ID card and send them home. Before our current acquisition, this has happened when there is a security issue or other critical issue with the employee. I'm able to understand such situations, but in general, I would like to see layoffs happening with prior intimation. More than securing the company, it is important to secure the family of someone, considering the fact that it can be hard if the source of income suddenly stops for someone. If that person is the only earning member of the family, it can be even tougher for them to continue.
Overall, I think the companies should work out the layoffs in a well-planned manner. Sometimes they think that giving compensation is enough, but in general, I would say a notice of 6 months or 3 months would be better for them to be prepared or look for a different job. Layoffs should not happen overnight, and it is a very bad thing. It also creates a blackmark on the company.
If you like what I'm doing on Hive, you can vote me as a witness with the links below.
as a Hive Witness 
as a Hive Engine Witness
 |
 |
 |