The right way to fire people (without shattering your reputation)

For months, companies in most sectors have been in a war for talent as they battle to hire from a scarce pool in a tight labor market. Now, faced with an economic slowdown, some of these businesses are having to make layoffs instead.

After a hiring spree during the pandemic, the technology industry is going through a firing spree as the share prices of some of the biggest household names come under pressure. Facebook owner Meta and Amazon have announced that they are letting more than 10,000 people go each, while Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk has already axed about half the social network’s 7,500-strong workforce in recent weeks.

The billionaire drew criticism for the brutality of the sackings, after announcing the layoffs through email — with some of the cutbacks made in error. How such leaders handle making redundancies will contribute to the long-term success of their companies.  

As inflation soars and the threat of recession increases, businesses in industries…