Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square, announced a mass layoff in 2015: more than 300 people (8% of its staff), mainly in the Product and Engineering Team. Before we dive in, you must be curious about who Jack Dorsey is, right? So here’s a little introduction about him:
Jack Dorsey, co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, developer of the Square (financial service platform), co-founder of Bluesky, PBLLC, and co-founder, principal executive officer, and chairman of Block, Inc.
According to Insider, the email was published and I felt terrible for those who have been laid off and received the email. The email is very straightforward and blunt in a way that doesn’t even show empathy for those leaving. The letter is not based on the employees’ perspective but on the company’s: The subject is “A more focused Twitter” and the layoff reasons are “significant structural changes to reflect our plan ahead.” In my opinion, a letter like this- to announce the dramatic changes in one’s life- should be more formal and sincere, no matter whether he means it or not, it indicates a form of respect for the efforts and time of the employees. In his writing, I see none.
According to The New York Times, it was not long after Jack Dorsey returned to Twitter as Chief in June 2015, that he started the mass layoffs. The paper disclosed that the Twitter employee feels “trepidation” due to his “divisive and sometimes erratic management style and the fact that he had been dismissed and returned to the company before.” Even though Twitter employees might see the layoffs coming it is still harsh and too straightforward for those who have been working for the company.
The following is the shorter version of the Meta layoff announcement by Mark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Meta, he acknowledges the talent and hard work of the employees, announces the company’s plan, and takes responsibility for the layoffs. The full version is mainly focused on the reason for layoffs, the layoff relieves other policy changes, and sincere apologies. I think it is a great example of a layoff announcement. Unlike Jack Dorsey’s letter, there are no exact layoff relieves mentioned, there’s no reassurance or guidance for the remaining employees, and there’s no empathy towards those who are leaving.
I found another way on the careerminds that listed four considerations for announcing a layoff: keep the message short and sweet, communicate and have one reduction in force, have individual meetings with employees affected, and provide a good outplacement program. I think by applying these four aspects, the letter would be more acceptable, and in addition, Jack Dorsey would be more adored by their former and current employees.
One of the things that I thought was funny in his layoff letter was when he tried to thank everyone for their trust and understanding. Using the blunt and straightforward approach that he did, this part of the letter was weird. He claimed to deliver the news how it is, but would add sympathetic parts here and there. Which makes him just seem like not a man of his word.
I appreciate the comparison of the two messages in this. Seeing how straightforward messaging is supposed to be done by Zuckerberg put into perspective how bloated and confusing Dorsey’s message was. As you mentioned the neutral wording used by Zuckerberg is in my opinion why he can get a straightforward message across so much better.