5 Non-Obvious Signs of Impending Layoff

As the risk of recession increases, here’s a good article on how to tell if your company is about to do layoffs (beyond if you see a steep drop in revenue or a threat emerge to the business model). I survived multiple rounds of layoffs when I was in-house, and these ring true to me:

1. Executive team and managers start to act funny, e.g., “maybe they’ll stop engaging with the team in ways they usually would … or focusing on random things they don’t usually, like they’ll ask specific questions about budget.” And watch out if the leadership team is turning over quickly.
2. Expensive projects that were highly touted earlier now being scrapped (to save money).
3. Hiring freeze put in place.
4.  Negative feedback on performance given for the first time. Ah yes, “this might be to build a case to put you on the chopping block because they can’t say performance issues if there’s not one.”
5. Splitting hairs over which bills to pay.

Bonus tips: if you are seeing signs of a layoff, try to get the title you want now so you can better position yourself in the market. Conversely, if you don’t want to leave, “be put on business critical projects.” Or if you have the stomach for it and the company is generous, volunteer for or stick around for a package.