The stock being up 10% today would like to disagree with your statement.
There are no words that will make firing 11% of your workforce humane, so, yes, bullshit corporate newspeak is 100% appropriate.
Would you rather him say we 'are letting go our lowest performers'?
"We were too optimistic in our projections and overhired, thus we need to cut headcount to meet our goals."
Anything else is just insulting to the intelligence of their employees
It matters why they're being let go. Here's where, "I take full responsibility for:" is acceptable.
"... dropping you because we automated your job away." <-- acceptable.
"... dropping you because, frankly, you're not very good at your job." <-- extremely acceptable. Hell, I was even told this when I was 16 years old and working at a shitty second-rate Lowe's clone called Sutherland's (and he's right, I wasn't good at my job, I didn't give a shit about stocking shelves - I was always helping people).
"... dropping you because I fucked up on judging the market and I gotta make sure the company stays attractive to investors." <-- not acceptable, also fuck you, also, you step down and appoint someone else. YOU fucked up. Not them. That's what "full responsibility" looks like.
Responsibility isn't, "Oh I made a booboo, here's 3 months pay and some other shit..."
Love him or hate him, Dr. Jordan Peterson is correct with some of his "rules of life", one of which is, "Tell the truth, or at least don't lie." When you say, "I'm taking full responsibility for this problem," that means you incur all negative consequences - and I do fucking mean - **ALL** negative consequences. Otherwise, just say, "These cuts are not ideal; unfortunately, they have to be made because I'm beholden to certain aspects of modern capitalism."
That's what people want to hear. They don't want to hear platitudes that don't even make them feel good, but assuage the other person's conscience. If your conscience is bothering you, it's because you know what you're doing isn't right. You may still have to do it, but don't fucking be a shitbag about it. Don't spout out some lines that "sound" good at a cursory glance. Tell the truth, or at least don't lie.
Tell that to the son who wanted to go to baseball camp this year and can't now, or the daughter that wanted to have violin lessons and now Daddy or Mommy can't afford that.
Your actions have consequences. Not just for you, but for others. To reduce it down to a goddamned template is not only insulting, but frankly deserves an old-fashioned jaw jacking.
All of the big corporations that you do not want to work for did not invent corporatespeak because they are uncreative or unwilling to engage with human emotions, they invented it because that is the least infuriating way to communicate that they're shutting down a division for offshoring.
From a strategic point of view, this sentence has near-zero positive effect on the reader and apparent non-zero negative effect. So it should probably be left out.
The ones I talked to a year later would ruefully admit it was a net positive for them. They were forced to reevaluate their careers and make corrections. One, for example, said it gave him the kick in the pants to start his own business, which he'd always wanted to do. Another told me it gave him the motivation for getting clean from drugs (the reason he was laid off was showing up for work high).
Incorrect. To anyone who ever has to do lay-offs: this is a masterclass in what to write.
Let's try and keep things honest, eh?
From the site guidelines,
> Please don't post shallow dismissals, especially of other people's work. A good critical comment teaches us something.
I had to stop reading. How can a human being be this tone deaf? You know what's difficult, you great insensitive oaf? Getting laid off.
Are you stepping down, Jeff?
No?
Then stop making it about you.
To anyone who ever has to do lay-offs: this is a masterclass in what not to write.