‘We can’t go into details’ and other frustrating phrases from layoff meetings

For years now, workers have been suffering through what many call a “quiet recession” in which the professional world is bogged down by intense competition, hiring freezes, and frequent layoffs. As companies try to safeguard against potential economic downturn or reorganize after an overoptimistic quarter, mass layoffs seem to be happening left and right at some of the biggest brands in the market.

While restructuring is an inevitable part of company growth, it seems to be happening more and more these days, with many workers living in constant fear for their jobs. Whether it’s due to burnout, poor training, or a lack of empathy, managers and HR representatives don’t always handle the situation appropriately, leading some employees to expose the fumbled and frustrating experiences they had while being laid off.

4 frustrating phrases

In the age of Zoom and TikTok, it’s not unusual to see a worker record their layoff and post it to social media. It’s even become somewhat of a trend, with creators making videos titled, “Watch me get laid off!” or, “Come get fired with me.” While conducting layoffs over Zoom seems callous, it’s the reality for many remote and hybrid workers, and provides an interesting insight and evolution into the way we see the role work plays in our lives now that we can see how layoffs are announced firsthand. Alongside that, workers are also becoming aware of the common cliché phrases and frustrating responses doled out by HR.

“Unfortunately, I can’t go into the details …”

Perhaps the most common and definitely the most infuriating phrase heard in these meetings, managers and HR representatives refusing to tell employees why they’re being fired only serves to make the situation more exasperating. However, sales director Brittany Pietsch didn’t let the company off the hook that easily, and went viral for her applaudable response. After hearing from colleagues who had been laid off days before, she wasn’t about to be fed the same script.

In a meeting with two HR reps she had never met before, she was told that she was being let go because of her performance, even though she had only finished her training one month prior and had only been receiving praise from her manager. When they refused to elaborate or provide details on how her performance was lacking, she called them out. “Can you explain to me why Brittany Pietsch is getting let go? I really need an answer as to why Brittany Piestsch is getting let go, not why Cloudflare decided to hire too many people and are now realizing that they can’t afford that many people.”

In response, HR told her that they could not give her “any clarity or answers,” so she doubled down. “It must be very easy for you to just have these little ten-minute meetings, tell someone that they’re fired, and completely wreck their whole life with no explanation. That’s extremely traumatizing for people.” When she asked again what performance metrics they used to make the decision, they still refused to “go into specifics,” leading Brittany to the root of the problem. “Do you guys even know who you’re talking to each day or why you’re letting people go?”

The CEO of Cloudflare, Matthew Prince, later responded to the viral video, saying that “sometimes underperforming employees don’t actually listen to the feedback they’ve gotten before we let them go,” and “any healthy org needs to get the people who aren’t performing off. That wasn’t the mistake here. The mistake was not being more kind and humane as we did.”

“This decision isn’t based on your performance …”

Rie, a worker who was impacted by mass layoffs at Paramount, had similar frustrations being let go without a proper explanation, only three months after relocating for the job. On her day off, an HR person called her and insisted that she join a Zoom call with the general manager. Once she was on the call, she was informed that she was one of the hundreds of Paramount employees being let go.

When she asked if it was based on performance, she was told that it was part of a “company-wide strategy,” as HR read from a script and refused to give her feedback on her performance during her time at the company. “Why put the listing on if you don’t have the budget for the role?” she asked, “Because I uprooted my life to move over here and now my job is getting eliminated after three months.”

“I can give you until the end of the day …”

It seems that even HR isn’t immune from break-neck layoffs. Angela, a talent acquisition expert, had just returned from bereavement leave after her grandmother passed away the previous week to find a sudden meeting scheduled with her manager. Unlike other workers who recorded their meeting, Angela said she was “not expecting this at all.” After revealing that her role had been eliminated, her manager told her that she could move into a sales position and “possibly reintegrate into her old role.”

This seems like a silver lining until she says she’ll have to talk to her husband before deciding whether or not to switch from talent acquisition to sales. Her manager responds that she would only give her “up until the end of today to consider.” Do you think you could process being laid off after returning from bereavement leave and decide whether or not you want to change careers in under eight hours? Probably not.

“This is completely unrelated to …”

In a since-deleted video that made the rounds on social media, Tommy recorded a meeting in which he told his manager that his girlfriend was pregnant. Instead of a congratulatory sentiment, his manager, Taylor, remarked that “this may affect work …” After returning from PTO the following week, he had another meeting with Taylor and someone from HR, in which she told him they were there “to talk about something completely unrelated to what you brought up to me last week … That said the team has undergone a restructuring and unfortunately your role has been eliminated effective today.”

After emphasizing what a “difficult decision” it was for her, she left the call before Tommy could ask any questions. “What’s happening? I got fired?” Tommy asked. The HR rep confirmed, and when asked why he was fired, he was told that “the role was no longer needed.” When he mentioned the bad timing and how he had just told Taylor about the pregnancy, the rep simply asked “Anything else?”

What are the signs?

Let’s be honest, no one starts a job thinking that there will be mass layoffs three months down the line, and many companies aren’t exactly transparent with their employees when it comes to the future of the business. While you shouldn’t live every day worrying that layoffs are around the corner, you don’t want to be completely caught off guard in the event that your role is eliminated. So, what are some subtle and not-so-subtle signs that you may be losing your position?

A last-minute meeting

Sadly, it’s becoming standard practice to announce layoffs via an unexpected email, or more commonly, a last-minute meeting. If one morning, you suddenly receive an invite for a 15-minute meeting from your manager scheduled for the same day, alarm bells might start ringing. That’s what happened to Heather Haynes, who recorded the moments leading up to her dismissal. “I got a random meeting on my calendar … I hope I’m not getting fired.” When she opens the meeting she sees that not only her manager but someone from HR is on the call. “Someone else is in there, I’m getting fired. Oh my god, I’m getting fired.”

Calm before the storm

While a last-minute meeting can be bad news, there are other things you can look out for further in advance. Another common occurrence before layoffs is an eerie calm. Has your manager stopped assigning you new tasks? Is your calendar empty in the coming weeks? Has the project you’ve been working on been paused? That’s how Jane knew her job was in danger in the days before getting laid off. “I pretty much saw it coming because I had my performance review canceled the week before, and the morning of, my manager messaged me asking me if everything was good for the rest of the week.” What’s worse, she also lost out on the promotion she was promised, with her current role being absorbed into the role she was meant to take over.

WARN notices

If you want something more concrete to predict whether your job is in danger, WARN notices can give you the heads-up you need. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires employers with more than 100 employees to provide a 60-day warning before any planned layoffs. If you find the database for your state, you can check whether or not your company has declared plans for potential restructuring, and not be back to square one in the event your role is impacted by layoffs.

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