February 11, 2025
The High Cost of Digital Layoffs
A disturbing trend is gaining momentum in corporate America: Companies are laying off employees via email, text, or Zoom. It's hard to imagine a more self-destructive way to handle workforce reductions.
The Wall Street Journal recently highlighted the case of a General Motors engineer with 20 years of service who learned of his termination through an early morning email. After two decades of service, he didn't even merit a conversation with his manager. The story notes several other companies that have taken similar cowardly approaches, dismissing employees through impersonal digital communications.
This kind of treatment sends an unmistakable message to departing employees: "You are disposable. Your years of service meant nothing to us." It's a message they won't forget, and they will share it widely with friends, family, and future colleagues. The reputational damage to the company will last for years. Once a company earns a reputation for treating people poorly, recruiting top talent becomes exponentially harder - the best candidates simply won't consider working there.
The impact on remaining employees is equally corrosive. They see how their departed colleagues were treated and wonder if they will suffer the same fate. Trust and loyalty evaporate. Productivity suffers as employees update their resumes and take recruiter calls instead of focusing on their work. In my executive search practice, I see this firsthand - companies that treat employees poorly make it dramatically easier to recruit their best people.
What makes this behavior particularly puzzling is that it violates the most basic rule of human relations: Treat others the way you would like to be treated yourself. Would any executive want to be dismissed via email after years of service? Of course not. Yet they rationalize doing exactly that to others.
Some argue that digital layoffs are more efficient, or that they help avoid emotional scenes. These are weak excuses that ignore the human and business costs of treating people poorly.
There's only one right way to let someone go: Meet with them in person, explain the situation clearly, thank them for their service, and treat them with respect. Yes, it's harder and more time consuming than sending an email. But it's the right thing to do, and it's also best for business.
Leaders who forget this basic truth do so at their own peril.
