Let’s be frank. There’s no world in which anyone is happy to receive a layoff notice, though what I find even worse is a layoff done through email. Don’t get me wrong, there are adequate ways of addressing this issue in a written statement—the “mass sending” and the impersonal-ness of it all just doesn’t sit right with me.
Giving some (needed) context, I recently read an article outlining Jack Dorsey’s layoff of twitter employees. The manner in which he spoke about the situation was extremely avoidant, lacking any responsibility for his decisions. Dorsey danced around the subject, and to add insult to injury it was addressed to all the employees. This lack of confidentiality and consideration is abundantly clear, despite his need to self-dictate his actions to be out of “the upmost respect.” In this scenario a jester would have more grace.
Beyond being offended if I were the recipient of this letter, regardless of my position, I’d feel demoralized. To fire individuals in this capacity is concerning, and shows a general lack of care, inciting job insecurity among the masses. Twitter (X) may be a place of nonchalantly addressing massive audiences, but to apply this rationale in a professional setting doesn’t work. There should be boundaries in place that discourage this very action. Despite Dorsey’s message promoting “all for one, and all for one” mentality, it’s apparent he only cares for himself.
There are aspects of Dorsey’s letter that should be highlighted and amplified including its: awareness, openness, (attempt of) gratitude, call to action, future help, and the format. He should have relied on these variables and tips more to have a good email(one that is objective, sensitive, explanatory, etc.). More of these variables would have insinuated an illusion of him caring. Caring about employees would not only improve their trust in you, but their (and society’s) comfortability/ connotations with this company.
On the other side, here’s what letters should avoid: multiple (conflicting) audiences, unnecessary jargon, confusion, and mainly a lack of personal compassion/empathy. The inclusion of these elements creates an environment of great disrespect and the air of a rich CEO being disconnected from his employees. Just what every company needs! Who cares if the public is angered? Who cares if stocks go down? Who cares if Twitter fails because of a “blunt” CEO? I certainly wouldn’t if this letter was any indication to Dorsey’s style of management.
My personal review may seem (or be) a bit harsh, though this isn’t condemning every situation like this. If done with care, an email is a perfectly reasonable means of communication. The time and effort to address people individually is something that I stand by. Especially after events such as the mass firing Better.com did over zoom to 900 employees. The takeaway is to be a decent person, while maintaining the necessary elements of a professional letter.
I agree with you about the email being a perfect mean of communication for this. Using the M.E.A.T strategy was a great way to explain how this email by Jack Dorsey could have been more brief and concise and could’ve continued being clear. However, you do state that firing this immense amount of people at once shows a “general lack of care, inciting job insecurity among the masses.” I think this is strong to show that, although to the company it is just ” a number of ex-employees” losing this job affects peoples every day life. The importance of making sure only people that are competent for the job keep the job is important but firing immense amounts of people at once lead to people being wrongfully laid off.
You did a great job on blog post 4 and I completely agree with your stance on “mass sending” a layoff email. It does not sit right with me either. Although Twitter was a large company at the time, it does not seem respectful to let over 300 people know they are going to be fired through an email. Yes, there are times when companies must let some of their employees go, that is understandable. But I believe it is terrible to do so through email. It would have been better to sit each person down one on one and explain to them why they were being fired. Have you ever been fired?
I really liked your use of the MEAT strategy and how it connects to the article and Jack’s memo. The email can be a good way for a message like this to be sent but unfortunately Jack’s falls short of this. He is saying he is being blunt and honest with us but then uses a bunch of vague statements that just confuse and irritate us. Sending off a message like this through email requires the writer to be vigilant in their wording, something Jack didn’t do or didn’t care enough to do. If you were in this situation, as one of the employees who had gotten fired, and then heard that this was how your former co-workers found out about this massive lay off, how would you feel/react?
I very much agree with you on the fact that sending an email about layoffs to the entire company was extremely distasteful of Jack Dorsey. I also thought it was odd how he was talking about a stronger twitter and making the company better in an email that will begin the firing process of over 300 employees. It seemed like a slap in the face those that were leaving.