Yes, you can make layoffs inclusive and empathetic: How DEI can help your company survive a recession

This piece was originally published in WRAL TechWire.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Although many business leaders see layoffs as a means of essential cost-cutting and short-term financial gain, workforce reduction is difficult emotionally, taking a toll on those directly impacted and the employees still on staff. The outcome is far-reaching across organizations and communities. Some people are left reeling and never fully heal.

Despite the pervasiveness of layoffs in American business culture, however, most organizations still bungle them. For example, Elon Musk infamously fired nearly 4,000 Twitter employees with a mass email sent out at 9 p.m. on a Friday. In 2022, Carvana cut 2,500 employees – many were informed via a group Zoom call.

There is a better way to approach layoffs – one that capitalizes on the positive gains in culture change via a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) lens. People leaders should be thinking about their roles as drivers of culture-centric organizations when contemplating the human and societal pain caused by mass layoffs. Today’s mismanaged or indelicately handled incident may cause long-term or permanent damage to a company’s most important asset – its brand reputation.