
Planning and Managing Layoffs - todsacerdoti
https://a16z.com/2020/03/31/planning-and-managing-layoffs/
======
whatever1
These posts bring me to the realization that you should never go above and
beyond for a company that you don’t own. Just show up, do the bare minimum to
meet expectations, finish your 8 hour shift and go home and enjoy quality time
with your family. This way when you get laid-off there is nothing to cry for.
You can always find an occupation, but you cannot get back the time that you
dedicated to fulfill someone else’s dreams.

~~~
cwyers
That's true if you don't need recommendations from the people you're working
with to get your next job, if you don't want to get promotions (which help you
get better jobs down the road!), and if you are content to spend 40 hours a
week from now until you retire just coasting through life.

I think a better way to look at it is -- don't be loyal to something that
can't be loyal to you. But you can and should let yourself care about the work
you're doing and the individuals you're working with. That way, if you do end
up leaving when you don't want to, you have accomplishments and a network of
people who know what you're capable of. And up until then, you can take pride
in what you're doing and feel good about how you're treating the people you're
doing it with.

~~~
kid_atticus
> for a company that you don’t own

I think you're missing the key part here. Most tech workers do have some
ownership in the companies which muddies the calculus a little bit. But if you
don't have a stake in the company you are literally trading time for money.
Work more time for the same money and you're just under-pricing your labor by
an equivalent amount.

Also, if you need to work overtime to get good recommendations and promotions
that is not a company you want to spend your time at.

Also also, if you need to work overtime to care about the work you're doing
then you should re-examine your value system.

~~~
distances
> Most tech workers do have some ownership in the companies which muddies the
> calculus a little bit.

Maybe nitpicking, but I don't think this is true at all. Lots of tech workers
do, sure, but I doubt it's anywhere even close to half of them.

~~~
Nuzzerino
I wouldn't even consider common stock options as a form of ownership. You are
basically last in line to get any sort of compensation after an exit.

------
ProfessorLayton
As someone who was lucky enough to graduate right into the last recession, I
highly empathize with the class of 2020, it is going to be rough for everyone,
but especially them. Over a decade later, and only recently have I felt like I
was finding my footing career-wise. And now we're all in for another ride.

I barely managed to land a job after graduating, made almost no money, got
laid off, and the company collapsed shortly thereafter anyway. One thing
missing from this article is that often times these layoffs don't happen in a
vacuum — Even I, a fresh grad, knew my employer was in trouble — and that a
layoff would be coming, which helped blunt the news when the actual layoff
happened. This was only possible because my previous employer was transparent
about the situation, and I was already pretty deep into my job search by the
time the layoff happened. To this day I am appreciative about that, even if
the end result was the same, and it took me a few months to land a great gig
after that.

Graduating into a recession + getting laid off so early in my career has
irreversibly changed my risk profile, and I refuse to work with a company that
isn't transparent about its going concern.

~~~
ardit33
Kids that Graduated in 2001-2003 feel the same.... those year sucked. I was a
summer intern in 2002, and saw half of my group get laid off. As an intern I
was cheap enough to keep around, until the economy improved in late 2003, when
I got a full time offer....

2004-2007 were good, then bamn another recession... then this....

The way money interests/lobbyist are running the economy and country, It is
almost given that every 10 years there will be a major recession. While this
time it was a virus triggering it, the economy has been over-heated for a
while, and the crazy thing is that the government was running crazy deficits
in a hot economy, instead of saving for the long term. (i.e. the feds and the
goverment, have been 'juicing up' the economy for short term re-election
goals).

~~~
tyre
To the latter criticism, this has nothing to do with governments pumping up
stocks.

It’s a pandemic that could put a third of workers out of jobs because
everything is shutting down and the economy is coming to a halt. It’s not like
2008 when complex financial products f—ed it all up.

(Yes there are still bad policies, yes there is corruption, yes, yes etc etc
etc but the point is that this isn’t “part of the boom and bust cycle.”)

~~~
xapata
We could have been like Taiwan and Japan. Seems like a mask mandate and
diligent testing with quarantine of infected only is sufficient. Would have
saved a lot of headache. And lives.

~~~
rusticpenn
I heard the opposite about Japan. Are they really doing exhaustive testing?

~~~
xapata
It's hard to know which sources to believe these days.

------
toadi
Seems odd... To be honest I'm from Belgium and like how layoffs are handled in
my country. There is a rulebook with actual legislation behind it. I like that
because it is easy to know for both parties what the expectations are. Mostly
you know exactly your severance pay as there are fixed rules for that in your
contract. If there are mass layoffs it will trigger other rules.

Can't understand the American Freedom thing. So the freedon to chose to be an
asshole employer is actually an option there :D

~~~
perceptronas
Expectations are handled when you sign employment contract. You are free to
negotiate anything. I live in EU country with similar laws and still
employees/employers negotiate additional things which are are not written in
the contract (because law forbids it). American freedom - its hard to imagine
somebody complaining because the person has more individual choices

~~~
hirako2000
While I agree in principle and wish more freedom in Europe, actually even more
freedom in the US as well, it's in practice that it fails, especially in
certain countries, and always in defavor of the workers.

When the capital holders manage to unbalance the relationship with the
workers, after failing to rebalance it, politics come into play and rules get
voted to protect the workers from certain abuse. I wouldn't say it works well
but it limits certain practices that would put the workers in serious
troubles.

In certain places, we've seen workers working over 60h per week, and not
getting compensated enough to meet the ends. So you may say those workers
should educate themselves and negociate better, but again it doesn't always
work in practice.

~~~
newswasboring
> educate themselves and negociate better, but again it doesn't always work in
> practice.

I can't believe this is even a debate topic. How do you expect an engineer to
compete with a lawyer who has studied it for years and has been practicing it
for a while.

~~~
twomoretime
You don't need to be a legal expert to negotiate with your boss if you're an
undercompensated employee...

~~~
newswasboring
1\. Lawyers are not just about legality, they are trained negotiators and
thinking in contract laws.

2\. The manager potentially has/can get negotiation training, you have to pay
out of your own pocket for yours.

3\. The power dynamic is usually not in your favor, as long as unemployment is
above zero in your specific field, it can never be in your favor.

~~~
twomoretime
Where do you work where all of management consists of lawyers? Even HR usually
only keeps lawyers on retainer.

The rest shouldn't really be that difficult if you're a competent person. I
don't need training to show some combination of

1\. I've been productive based on X and Y projects

2\. I've saved/generated $X

3\. I'm undervalued based on these x salaries or this average value from
$reputable_website

People treat negotiation like some kind of black magic. If your boss isn't a
total asshole it isn't hard to make a case.

~~~
newswasboring
Only the first point was about lawyers. The points you mentioned are coming
from a place of privilege. If it was this easy everyone would have done it. I
can say all this and my employer can say "ok go work for them" and then I have
to uproot all my life because my visa is tied to my work. This is just one
example, and I am not going to give any more because I don't think your are
writing in good faith. You are not paying any attention to what life
situations are or potential power dynamics.

~~~
twomoretime
> The points you mentioned are coming from a place of privilege

The fact that I disagree with you is not evidence of "bad faith." But since
you bring up privilege, I think you're just making poor excuses. Your Visa
situation does not represent the majority and dismissing every successful
negotiation as "privileged" just breeds learned helplessness.

If you have authorization to work in the country you live in and you can
demonstrate that you're being underpaid, the onus is on you to approach your
boss and make a case. You can always start looking for another job if they
politely refuse. Or start looking first and come back with offers. This
doesn't require any magical privilege.

I'm also mildly offended that you believe yourself familiar with my situation.
"Privilege" is turning into a racist and/or sexist slur. It's a blanket term
used to excuse failure and breeds complacency when people hide behind it.
There was no need to make this argument personal.

------
GCA10
Most of this is good advice, but I'd disagree with declaring "Today is your
last day."

I've been on both sides of the layoff conversation, and usually there are some
loose ends relating to work-in-progress that can be tidied up with dignity if
everyone has a couple days to do it. We're talking about reworking next week's
client meeting, or sorting out some team/project responsibilities that ought
to be handed off cleanly, or whatever.

Assuming that there's trust in both directions, too, it's decent to give laid-
off employees a couple days to retrieve or delete personal information that's
relevant to their life going forward. A work emailed picture of grandma's
birthday party. That sort of thing.

The person you lay off today is likely to stay in the industry, and to mingle
in the future with people that might be important to your future success. Take
a moment to think how you want to manage that relationship. Tossing her/him
out the door that day is one approach. But it carries a price.

A favorite example from finance. The guys who founded Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
were thrown out of Bear Stearns quite summarily in 1976. They built quite a
mighty firm in KKR and did not do a penny of business with Bear Stearns for
many years.

KKR is still around and doing fine. Bear Stearns went bust in 2008. That
single example isn't cause and effect. But it's a marker.

~~~
davidu
Yep. I’m not sure you read the whole thing, as I cover the grandma birthday
example. Sentiment-wise we agree, tactically it’s still not the best practice.
I know it sounds like it is.

It really depends on the maturity of the workforce and leadership, as I
mention. For a lot of startups, that’s in short supply and just saying today
is the last day of work is easiest. It shouldn’t have the feeling tossing them
out. It can be end of day, folks (not boss) can arrange a meet up at a bar
nearby, etc. I’ve seen it go sideways on both sides before when it’s too
ambiguous for people or drawn way out, especially for junior folks in IC
roles. The right thing really is just let them go, pay them as much as you
can, and let them start figuring out what’s next.

If it were me, chances are I would not make the day of notification their last
day unless they wanted it to be (most would I bet) but I also know what I’m
doing. :-)

~~~
GCA10
Thanks for the very thoughtful reply. I like your option of semi-offering a
couple days grace period but also letting the departing employee say: "Nope,
I'm out of here."

From the employee side, there's a primal desire to control something about
this unexpected and unwelcome process. Moving the last-day slider a day or two
in either direction might hit the spot.

~~~
davidu
One of the hardest things about this process for a sensitive and compassionate
leader is knowing when to not try and "make it better."

This is probably the greatest video clip on the subject of all time:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTjhHrcyiQI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTjhHrcyiQI)

------
gk1
One more thing to consider as you _plan_ the layoffs: You may be eligible for
one (or more) of the loans from the latest relief bill. The loans come with a
near-zero interest rate and a big chunk of it may be forgiven.[1]

However, there are stipulations related to layoffs and reduced salaries, which
is why you should evaluate this option _before_ making the irreversible
decision to fire people.

[1] Here's a decent summary:
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/30/heres-
how...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/30/heres-how-get-
small-business-loan-under-349-billion-coronavirus-aid-bill/)

~~~
acwan93
We were considering laying off but quickly decided on pay cuts due to (what
currently seems like!) the temporary nature of this and knowing that the
relief bill will come. Our projection is that the loan funds should arrive by
the pay cycle after our upcoming one.

Like the article and the parent comment mentions, laying off is a very
significant and irreversible decision and at least in our case seemed too
extreme.

~~~
divbzero
This is exactly what the relief bill is aiming to accomplish: to bridge
otherwise healthy businesses to the other side of the crisis without having to
dismantle their teams now and painstakingly rebuild them afterwards. Hopefully
many companies like yours can make this plan work out in reality.

------
jbkiv
Different point of view: I was a Founder and CEO during the dot com era. The
company survived and became successful ($2B revenues today).

It may be unpopular, but I will give you a different view, the one from a
Founder/CEO.

After the dot com crash no VC could figure out the good from the bad in their
portfolio companies. I was starting to get conflicting opinions from my board
(4 VC’s and me, the Founder). “Become a BtoB company, a BtoBtoC
company,etc,...”.

Some VC’s offered a bridge (and declined at the last minute), others claimed
they were running of money, others did not know.

A white knight came in the form of a bottom feeder. Those kinds of sharks are
circling around your company right now. Vc’s are just happy to unload their
portfolio companies to them, so they can save the face, some employees, and
maybe the company.

Anyway, the deal came with a caveat: I had to fire 40% of the staff and I had
to quit after that to make room for “professional management”.As a Founder I
had hired every single engineer, every single marketing rep. This was a very
difficult one to swallow, but I had no choice.

The night before I did not sleep. I was up at 5 and drove early to the office.
I stopped multiple times as I was sobbing and could not drive (I wear
glasses).

Mid morning I called an all hands meeting. Got up the steps to talk to
everybody. There was silence, as everybody sort of knew by then that something
was brewing.

As I was reading to talk, I started crying. Everybody was watching me in
silence.

As I was getting myself together I explained the situation, that we had a way
out but that 40% of them had to go. One engineer raised his hand and said
“I’ll stay with no pay”.

Then a second one.

I started crying again. Folks would come to me and say “we’ll be all right”
and I would reply “thank you”. When asked what the structure would be, I said
I did not know. I knew that after the layoffs I would be silently asked to
leave.

A lot of people moved on, did well, got better jobs over the years.

So, be kind to your Founders, and all the early employees who worked for
months and years with no pay because they believe so much in what they were
working on.

In the past 5-10 years, we have seen a lot of excesses, super expensive office
spaces, unbelievable perks and salaries, $30K conference room tables and
unlimited money printed by VC’s and later stage investors. Well, maybe this is
it. If you get laid off don’t be angry, don’t blame others, and move on. Don’t
take that personally.

As for me, I never fully recovered from the worst day of my life, and that was
19 years ago. :-(

~~~
Judgmentality
> The night before I did not sleep. I was up at 5 and drove early to the
> office. I stopped multiple times as I was sobbing and could not drive (I
> wear glasses).

> As I was reading to talk, I started crying. Everybody was watching me in
> silence.

I know my comment is slightly off-topic to the article, but I just wanted to
empathize with you and what was the worst day of your life. My company failed
completely, but when I had to make the announcement I was sobbing
uncontrollably to the point where I was having trouble breathing, in front of
everyone (some were sympathetic, some were bitter, all went on to better
things almost immediately - none had any interest in working for free). It's
just fucking awful. I'm doing better now, but fuck just remembering how
horrible that was made me feel compelled to write this comment.

> As for me, I never fully recovered from the worst day of my life, and that
> was 19 years ago. :-(

I hope you're also doing better today.

~~~
jbkiv
So you understand...Thank you. I learned plenty of lessons: make money, don't
over hire, be frugal, don't bend to pressure for fancy gigs and out of control
travel expenses. Plenty of lessons for sure. I have sympathy for Founders who
will find themselves in that kind of situation. That miserable sense of
failure to your people. Good luck to all.

------
lordnacho
I remember laying people off during the GFC, and they all had a good laugh.
Nobody was surprised. Nobody broke down, even though a couple of them had a
pregnant wife to look after.

What's the secret? Communications. Don't say everything is fine if it isn't.
Don't pretend that the potential saviour plans are more likely than they
actually are.

Earlier in my career, I'd been through layoffs too. Management would say "this
is the last round" several times. You could see teams vanishing from one day
to the next. On a trading floor it's pretty obvious. But also in a major tech
firm I'd worked at, it was the same, "this is the last time".

Fact is you don't know if it really is the last time, so don't say so. You can
lay out the plan - staffers appreciate whatever detail management can give -
and you can say why you think you're about to turn the corner. But don't act
like it's a given.

------
nilkn
Just ruminating here, but I didn’t fully understand the hesitance to do
paycuts. Of course, I understand that in some cases the financial problem is
severe enough that layoffs are the only option. But it’s conceivable that in
many cases a simple, say, 20% cut to salaries across the board could be enough
to tip the balance.

Some employees will immediately start looking for another job, but that seems
totally fine and reasonable to me, both for the employee and the employer.
They get to retain most of their income and all their benefits while doing so,
and if they do leave successfully that just saves you more money too.

With all of that said, it does occur to me that with small startups there just
may not be enough employees for paycuts to help much. The above is really
written with 100+ person companies in mind I suppose.

~~~
paxys
Like you point out in your second paragraph, some percentage of employees are
automatically going to start looking for a new job and treat their 80% salary
as a severance package. Being in a competitive job market, this is going to be
pretty much every above-average employee at your company. With layoffs the
company gets to choose who gets impacted, and the process is immediate rather
than drawn-out.

The reality is that too many VC funded companies hire too eagerly and can
operate perfectly fine (in some cases better) with a smaller, more focused
workforce.

There is no coming back from a major across-the-board paycut, which is why no
company chooses that option.

BTW your question is answered in the last paragraph of the article.

~~~
tomnj
> Being in a competitive job market

Are we in a competitive job market still? For whom?

~~~
bartread
I thought the same thing. If I'm running one of the only companies making
layoffs the advice about paycuts rings true, but what about the situation we
find ourselves in now where almost every company in the whole UK economy, and
many beyond that, are in the same boat?

Of course, this piece has been written to provide advice in the face of the
current situation, so I'm not simply dismissing it: just asking the question.

------
3fe9a03ccd14ca5
A big lesson I learned from people here that survived the dotcom bust: you
don’t want to be the last person laid off at any company. Don’t feel great if
the lower performers are out the door first while the economy starts the
circle the drain.

The reason is because there are companies that are still hiring and that will
make it, but they’ll soak up their fill from all of the early lay-off talent
and there will be very little left for you when you’re the last person to turn
off the lights.

I guess the moral of the story is to keep your resume fresh, and if a good
opportunity comes by during this time it might not hurt to consider it.

------
taurath
A bit of criticism - it “normalizes” an 8 week severance as a ceiling - maybe
in the high flying startup world but any big company especially with long
tenure 8 weeks is a pittance, especially to someone having been there for 5
years. May be worth a note.

> While it can sound jarring to say “and today is your last day,” it’s
> generally better for people because it makes it clear that there is a new
> normal and it starts right now

On what basis is this better? You’re opting into socially traumatizing people
this way. When you take someone’s badge most people who remain immediately
starts to shun the laid off worker. Your respect and trust of them as a person
is immediately (rightly) seen as a lie. I’d really like more info on how this
is better than allowing people to say their goodbyes.

~~~
ryanSrich
Agreed that 8 weeks is not generous in any sense, especially for employees
that have been at the organization for a year or more.

Layoffs are different from performance based firings. My rule of thumb for
layoffs is mandatory 3 months + 1 month for each year of service. Someone at
the organization for 6 years deserves 6 months of severance if laid off.

These are standards you have to build into your financial model. I'm afraid
we've been in the crazy world of terribly run startups for too long. When I
look at some of the standout startups from 2005-2010 and some from 2011-now,
the startups coming out of this recent decade are far less efficient with
their cash than their counterparts from the decade before.

~~~
alacombe
8 weeks sounds pretty awesome when a $100-millions company gives you 2 weeks
(minimum legal here in Canada)...

~~~
mattm
It's probably a US thing. Canada has a stronger EI program so the hardship of
unemployment is handled by society rather than falling solely on the hands of
the employer.

------
toomuchtodo
This is a phenomenally good resource for the topic, as both someone who has
had to perform layoffs and who has been let go myself.

Highly recommend reading in its entirety, and saving for the unpleasant day
you need it (which, unfortunately, might be soon).

------
troelsSteegin
This is a how-to article on a difficult administrative procedure --laying off
employees. What stands out for me is the emphasis on employee dignity. As a
manager, the layoff might feel like its about you, but it's really about them.
Accommodate, but don't indulge their emotions.

What's missing is that a layoff conversation is also the beginning of a
breakup. The economic truth may be transactional, but the lived experiences is
emotional. Highly invested professional relationships are changing
irrevocably. maybe it was great, maybe it wasn't. These employees have served
the mission of your company. If they showed up to work, they were trying. As
an employee, one can feel discarded. In this setting, the one emotion a
manager should not suppress is gratitude: don't forget to say thank you.

------
Klonoar
>You can say “I know this is a lot to take in, but you will get through this.”

>Do not tell them they will be fine.

In general, a very good article, but these two lines really seem
contradictory. It might intend to mean something else, but in practice it's
pretty much doing what is outlined as a "do-not-do-this".

Edit: typos.

~~~
stickfigure
I hear what you're saying, but I think the difference is pretty important.

 _you will get through this_ acknowledges that a significant hardship is being
imposed on them.

 _you will be fine_ trivializes the hardship; the subtext is "this is no big
deal, you worry too much".

~~~
Klonoar
The point I'm making is that you might see that distinction, but the person
hearing those words in that moment will not.

It's a moment in life where you just keep your mouth shut.

------
gwbas1c
> I say what roles, not who, because that’s how you should be thinking about
> this. It’s not a person by person decision, it’s a role by role decision.

Careful: If you've ever worked on a team where one person clearly needed to
go, that person needs to go in the layoff. Otherwise, keeping the poor
performer when you lay off other people who did their jobs well will severely
hurt morale.

If you don't understand what I mean, well you should consider yourself lucky
that you've always worked with excellent people who knew how to do their jobs
and had great attitudes.

------
thedance
Here's a don't: don't bring some BS document for the fired person to sign.
They have no reason to do so and shouldn't feel pressured to execute something
like a non-disparagement agreement, unless it comes with a big checks stapled
to it.

~~~
davidu
I could have and maybe should have added that. Totally agree. They can take it
home and review and you should send it digitally anyways so they have a copy.

------
grecy
This is extremely useful and well done, easily the best resource for layoffs
I've ever seen. I really like that it doesn't hold back.

> _Maybe they will return to a home country with alternative healthcare
> options_

Wow, that's calling it what it is.

~~~
davidu
Thanks and yep.

------
throwaway8291
Why pretend and cloud the idea, that the main reason a person has a "job"
today is to accumulate capital for capital.

As long as this notion persists (which will be for many more decades I fear)
power inequalities will just mean that some will suffer more (those who do not
have resources in the first place).

Hey, you know, I am really sorry, but thanks for all the capital you helped us
to accumulate - which we own and not you. Bye!

I imagine the most profound societal change will come from getting rid of this
notion and the resulting reduction in power asymmetries.

~~~
frockington1
In return for helping the company build capital you were paid a monetary value
in return. A quick solution to the problem you are presenting is to invest the
money you were paid into other companies or start your own company so you too
can have 'capital'.

~~~
throwaway8291
I understand that it's a very broad spectrum.

However, what I am observing is that 'capital' gets its hand in any aspect of
life, the formerly family owned coffee machine maker, lingerie producer and
the outdoor specialist went through couple of private equity hands - for what?
For injecting capital to trim down ops, expand, then get out of a position?

After watching hundreds of hours of investing conference videos and interviews
there is one thing, that really got me: why is this field so sad? I believe
it's because all they ever talk about what they "own". The cannot make,
invent, heal, fight, cook, write, harvest or any other human activity - all
they do is "own" something that is valuable to others.

Imagine kids playing in the playground and all the talk about is what each of
them owns. They cannot read, write, play an instrument, tell jokes, do tricks,
etc. - no, but they control those who can and are productive.

I am not sure why, but I'd rather have a kid with talents than one with lots
of "assets" (even though in this world talent does not matter, if you've got
the assets).

\----

Warren Buffet was once asked by the audience, what you should do, if you have
artistic talents and want to live them out, but you do not want to starve? He
did not really care, understandably.

------
kderbyma
Excellent and humane in all aspects. Definitely a bookmark

------
crispyambulance
Sounds like compassionate and practical advice, but nothing particularly
insightful.

Having seen the shit-storms of the early naughts, yes, I can say there are
worse ways of doing layoffs. Hint: deactivating key cards at lunch time isn't
a best practice, nor is dribbling out lay-offs in waves like a year-long "last
man standing" game show particularly helpful. Nor is calling an all-hands
meeting and having the CEO cry on a theater-sized video projection. But these
things are fairly obvious to non-sociopath leaders and companies with a
professional HR department.

This is the second essay from a VC concern that I've seen discussing this. It
makes me wonder why are VC's giving out this advice in such open-letter
forums?

~~~
9nGQluzmnq3M
Because the economy is tanking and layoffs will follow, even in Silicon
Valley?

Also, this is intended as a practical manual from someone who's been there and
done it repeatedly, not a random blogger attempting to dazzle with their
"insight".

------
biztos
> Offering less than two weeks severance pay is outside the norm, as is
> offering more than eight weeks.

Is this a norm for startups?

The norm for BigCorp is to have your tenure-based severance actually map
directly to tenure, so if someone worked for you for 10 years she gets 5x what
someone who worked for two years gets.

(Granted there might be a baseline, like $M + $N * $YEARS.)

And that's just talking about the US, but the article definitely implied
they're talking about the US and in particular California. If your startup is
domiciled in, say, France, you probably don't have a choice.

------
adrr
Incorrectly states anything above 8 weeks isn't normal. 8 weeks is the min for
Cal WARN. When i got laid off during the great recession, i received 11 weeks
paid. 8 weeks for WARN and one week for every year employed. Then another one
month of pay to give up my rights to sue the employer.

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MichaelMoser123
shit. It seems that this recession will last for quite some time - so a good
number of people will have to take up work as contractors. That sucks.

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DantesKite
Man that was very, very useful advice.

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xivzgrev
Voluntary severance is another option. Give people six weeks pay if they take
it, two weeks if they don’t. Coach people in or out.

