It's unfortunate when CEOs neglect to mention the difficulties of those they fired — instead focusing on the the difficulties they faced in doing the firing
> I want to publicly say thank you to everyone who has worked at Lambda for what you’ve contributed. I know you’ve given parts of who you are to Lambda, and to our students. You are part of our journey. You are the reason we are here. Thank you.
He mentioned the difficulties of those who were fired by acknowledging that their emotions are real, and that they matter. And that this was an unfortunate decision he had to make. He also thanked them for all they have contributed .
What else should he have said ?
There's a difference between "you feel sad you're fired" and "you'll miss your mortgage next month, because no one is hiring, and your kids may be kicked out of their school district as a result."
This decision will cause many of those we lay off to endure hardship. I apologize and accept responsibility for that. While I've struggled making this decision, that doesn't compare to the struggle of suddenly being out of work.
To recognize these difficulties, we've offered a month of severance pay for every year people have worked here, and extended the expiry of their vested options to three years.
Maybe it's just ego or maybe it's the desire for meaningful human connection, but the idea of losing my job and it meaning nothing to the person in charge just adds insult to injury.
I like that he briefly addressed how hard the choice was, because it reinforces the message that each of these people matter.