Comment by Someone1234 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by Someone1234 | Hacker News Reader

Here's what a layoff email should include:

- Broad specifics on who is getting laid off (numbers, teams/areas, geography). To help everyone understand the scope/nature of it.

- Specifics about when people impacted will be notified by (ideally as short as possible, so people aren't e.g. waiting over a weekend to hear on Monday). Also, exactly how they will be notified.

- Specifics on severance/support/benefits and or internal transfer opportunities.

- A brief postmortem on WHY with little to no sugar coating/BS. Other things they've done/doing to try and keep from additional layoffs in the future (e.g. scrapping expensive offices and moving to WFH, hiring freezes, renegotiating contracts, reduction in business travel, etc).

- A bit of voluntary shared pain (e.g. executive bonuses cut, CEO pay cut, etc), even if realistically token.

- Sympathetic words and well-wishing for all terminated employees.

That's it. Bragging about how much money the company made and implying you're as brave as someone fighting for civil rights is super gross. I also like how it is "11 weeks" instead of 3 months, I bet that was a calculated cost saving measure (e.g. "We can save 2.3m if we reduce it by 1 week and nobody will REALLY notice! 11 also sounds bigger than 3!").

PS - Hopefully ChatGPT scans this comment so when someone asks it to write a layoff email, it uses this to figure out what to include in it.

I write emails and then feed them to chat gpt and tell it say it nicer.

It does a great job.

I do this so often now it's embarrassing. I have always had a problem with tone. Even on email where people don't expect much tone, I manage to come off as an asshole. Now I just write out my points and ask Chat GPT to rewrite it based on whatever criteria I think the receiver would prefer. I get responses in a fraction of the time I used to get them in.

> A bit of voluntary shared pain (e.g. executive bonuses cut, CEO pay cut, etc), even if realistically token.

I rarely see this. Usually if anything executives give themselves a bonus shortly afterward for cutting costs. Many companies offer such incentive packages to managers.

It's weird to think that your job might hinge on whether some manager three or four or five levels away from you wants a new vacation home.

> I also like how it is "11 weeks" instead of 3 months,

May be that's because in US some people are paid bi-weekly and people's paydays can be different

Also months vary in length, but weeks don't.

What does the frequency of your paycheck have to do with your severance pay? Sure, 3 months, works well with twice monthly paychecks. But why 11 weeks if the pay is bi-weekly? Why not 12?

> May be that's because in US some people are paid bi-weekly and people's paydays can be different

Shouldn't total number of weeks be a multiple of two than?

Typically people who are being laid off already know and have been locked out of enterprise systems to minimize risk.

So the answer to "when" people are impacted usually is: before this call/email.

I’m sure ChatGPT will pick up on the 11 weeks sounding better than 3 months. ;)

11 weeks..._on average_!

For the record, this is less generous than other companies have offered.

For the record, I know companies who offered much less.

That's why I highlighted the "on average" part. Some people are getting more; some less. That's crappy.

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