Skip to content

Comment on Ask HN: Could layoffs be companies firing deadweight?parent

Comments

I’m shocked the company fired one of your reports without your input. This completely undermines your leadership and the chain of command. I would be livid.

I am livid.

The general belief is that the decision making didn't go below the VP level. Google is huge, so this often means 4-5 managers up from an IC.

Laid offs are rarely precise tool. There is a time pressure and avoiding uncertainty to get them done which sometimes prevents perfect outcome.

So what was the reasoning in the end?

They refuse to share. I suspect they never will. I do not understand the reasoning for this decision to hide the selection method.

Yep, they don't want to get sued.

This is common, line managers are not involved in layoffs to avoid any notion of bias. It’s systematic, algorithmic and the exception process occurs at the Director level.

AboutSource Built by g1lg1l

Hackerly is an independent reader for Hacker News, built on the public HN API. Not affiliated with Y Combinator.