America Doesn't Just Do Layoffs. It's Fallen in Love With Them

Another week. Another flood of LinkedIn goodbye posts.

Talented people thanking colleagues after being locked out of their systems. No chance to pack their desks. No final email. No dignity.

Some companies now send layoff notices at 3:00 a.m. Others run two Zoom calls at the same time—one for those “safe,” another for those gone. Ten minutes. Meeting over.

Let me ask this plainly: When did this become acceptable?

I use the word love deliberately. When employees are treated as expendable line items, layoffs become the easiest lever to pull. Convenient. Fast. Emotionless.

But organizations that truly believe “people are our greatest asset” don’t behave this way. They hire carefully. They plan responsibly. And when separation is unavoidable, they act like adults—with empathy, transparency, and respect.

I’ve laid people off in my 40-year career. I’m not proud of it—but I am proud of how it was done. Performance-based. Thoughtful. Humane. People were given time, support, and their self-worth intact.

That standard is disappearing.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: Large companies need collective representation for salaried employees and managers. Especially when mass layoffs are on the table. Decisions of this magnitude should not happen behind closed doors with only financial voices in the room.

This isn’t about protecting poor performance. It’s about protecting basic human decency.

So I’ll ask what many are afraid to say out loud: Have we lost our values when it comes to layoffs—or do we still have the courage to reclaim them?