CEO says assisting laid-off workers in packing their boxes eased the pain for everyone

[midian182]

A hot potato: Being let go from a job is one of the worst experiences most people can face. Few things can make it less awful, but would the pain be eased if the boss who terminated your employment helps pack your boxes? One CEO actually did this, and he claims the interaction benefited both himself and the laid-off workers.

Max Levchin, one of PayPal's cofounders and the current CEO of Affirm, which provides flexible payment plans for shoppers, talked about the first time he implemented layoffs on Wednesday's episode of The Twenty Minute VC podcast (via Business Insider).

"I didn't know what I was doing and I was terrified of owning the responsibility that I screwed up," he said.

Levchin said he learned that being with employees who had been laid off was better than hiding in an office. He added that helping workers pack their personal items into boxes and walking out alongside them was cathartic, not just for those impacted but also for himself.

Affirm is one of the many tech companies that has made layoffs in recent years. It laid off 485 employees, or around 16% of its workforce, in 2023, and another 140 in February 2024.

Max Levchin (credit: Thomas Hawk)

Levchin also said that how people react to being laid off can depend on company culture. He explained that employees who were let go told him they understood why the dismissals needed to happen, and they hoped to come back.

"If the culture of the company is great, the blow is much softer," he said. "People understand that you tried with every possible strategic or tactical idea to not have to go through this."

While not everyone might agree with Levchin's methods, there have been plenty of instances in which CEOs made layoffs in a less-than- empathetic way. Last November, one boss fired 99 people and told them to "get the f**k out" because they never attended a meeting. This was made all the more shocking because most of them were unpaid remote part-time workers.

The most infamous incident was in 2021 when the Better.com CEO fired 900 people during a three-minute Zoom call. He then accused many of those laid-off staff of stealing through their laziness. He sent an apology letter to employees a week later.

Some CEOs have made positive moves to help laid-off workers. Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb, for example, personally reached out to company leaders to help the 1,900 employees laid off in 2020 find new jobs.

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CEO says assisting laid-off workers in packing their boxes eased the pain for everyone

 

[NumberNine]

I'm sure getting them out the door faster made management feel much better. Truly a growth opportunity for all involved... LOL

 

[ScottSoapbox]

This is a story from when he first laid off people ever - I.e., his first start-up, not at his current company.

 

[The Talking Tech]

This is more like the CEO is making sure the laid personnel is not packing company's property on their way out.

 

[mbk34]

On the plus side it's nice to see some positivity in the whole process of laying people off.

 

[Carlos GarPov 00]

This is humiliating!

 

[Raytrace3D]

I was recently in a mass layoff from a remote job (I was told when my last day was) and within 2 hours of being given notice, I could no longer access Teams, my email or login to my PC. I didn't even have a chance to say good bye. I had to contact people on LinkedIn. lol

 

[axiomatic13]

They aren't helping, they’re making sure the newly fired employee doesn't steal anything or drop moral of other by saying revealing things they saw on the job before getting fired. This is so petty.

 

[Carlos GarPov 00]

I was recently in a mass layoff from a remote job (I was told when my last day was) and within 2 hours of being given notice, I could no longer access Teams, my email or login to my PC. I didn't even have a chance to say good bye. I had to contact people on LinkedIn. lol

 

[ActualViking]

Never a good situation for anyone, but I think for a boss to make himself available and be there for the ex-employees is something can help.

I've experienced cuts two times at places I worked, the first I was one of the cut ones.

First experience was sort of silly. It was a smallish company with around 15 people and the more observant of us knew things weren't great financially. I and five others was booked for a internal meting a few days later with no agenda, not that unusual except:
- The people invited included graphics, programming and the receptionist.
- The meeting was on the last day of the month (severance is always by month, so the last day means a month less severance pay).
And true enough we got cut. Not telling us straight away felt a bit ****, but other than things were dealt with as best as possible.

Second experience I didn't get the cut, but something like 10-15% did and it felt somewhat random or more precisely - some of middle management took as an opportunity to brings friends closer and get rid of others.
What was really bad though was everyone was told on a Thursday that the coming Monday there was to be a big firing. And the specific setup was everyone was to be at the computer at 1.pm.m then those cut would get an e-mail, a meeting straight after with management and the arrangements were made.

One colleague that got the cut got up from his chair, said nothing to us colleagues and was never heard from again. Others remained working throughout their severance period until they got another job, they didn't take the cut personal and understood why they were selected. Ie. they left on good terms, found good jobs and stayed connected some has even found a new job at the company years on.

Bottom line - being fired can be ****. But it is not necessarily something personal or even due to bad management, the World changes and companies don't always manage to adapt.

 

[GettCouped]

Cut your multi-million dollar salary before firing people and we might think about you differently.