Certain firms are issuing an atypical layoff alert: reductions are on the horizon, but employees may face weeks or months of waiting to discover if their positions are impacted.
Nike employed this approach last week, stating it would begin determining affected roles in 2027 and later. Earlier in 2024, Meta and GitLab similarly revealed upcoming reductions before specifying who would be dismissed. Conventionally, companies inform both impacted staff and the broader workforce simultaneously.
Extended advance notice can provide employees time to secure new employment. It may also prompt some workers to depart voluntarily, potentially reducing severance expenses, according to workplace analysts. However, unease can spread throughout the organization.
‘Announcements like this breed uncertainty’
In Nike’s release, CEO Elliott Hill explained the sportswear giant will cut headcount as it shifts its operating model, adding it hasn’t yet determined how many positions or which sites will be affected.
“I want to acknowledge that announcements like this breed uncertainty,” Hill wrote. “Throughout this process, we will communicate directly, operate with transparency, and treat people with respect.”
The announcement coincided with Nike’s fiscal first-quarter earnings, which revealed a 2% profit drop as revenue slipped 4%. The company projects revenue will fall by a high-single-digit percentage for the current fiscal year.
In a statement, Nike spokesperson Mary Remuzzi said the company “remains committed to transparency with our employees and sharing updates as they become available.” She added: “Some actions will unfold over time, and in many locations, relevant local regulations and consultation processes will dictate timing and execution.”
Nike shares, amid a turnaround effort, have fallen roughly 46% year to date.
The company previously announced roughly 1,400 role eliminations in April, though at that time it said affected employees would hear directly from their managers and HR partners beginning that same day.
Layoff Limbo
When Meta announced in April it would cut 10% of its workforce the following month, internal forums rapidly filled with anxious posts, dark humor, and questions, Themoneytimes previously reported. One commenter characterized the situation as “28 days of hell.”
This wasn’t Meta’s first time announcing layoffs before they fully materialized. In mid-March 2023, during its “Year of Efficiency,” the company said some staff would learn the next day if they were impacted, while reorganizations and cuts in tech groups would follow in late April and in business groups in late May.
These sweeping announcements differ from the advance written notices that federal and certain state laws mandate for large-scale layoffs. By contrast, Nike, Meta, and GitLab notified their entire workforces about upcoming reductions before specifying which roles would be eliminated.
Pros and Cons
Employment attorney Kevin Zwetsch said firms issuing early layoff notices — beyond legal requirements — may be seeking voluntary departures, potentially to avoid severance payouts and reduce involuntary cuts. The downside, however, is “you may lose good people,” he said, “people you wouldn’t have selected for the restructuring.”
Career coaches and HR experts say workers often strive to demonstrate their worth when layoffs loom. However, exceeding expectations typically doesn’t help, while disengaging could give the company grounds to include an employee on the layoff list.
“Working harder in the final weeks won’t move the needle,” Laszlo Bock, formerly Google’s head of human resources, previously told Themoneytimes. Instead, employees are often better served using the time to network and secure their next role, said Bock, who now advises startups.
If workers know their jobs may be at risk, they can explore internal openings, said Sarah Rodehorst, cofounder and CEO of Onwards HR, which helps companies manage severance and off-boarding.
The catch, she added, is that company notices must be specific: identifying departments, locations, or roles most likely to be cut helps workers gauge their risk. Otherwise, vague warnings can generate “a lot of anxiety” across the organization, Rodehorst said.
Laura Labovich, who leads Career Strategy Group, an outplacement firm, said one to two months’ notice can be ideal for workers, giving them a head start on job hunting while still employed.
Employers can assist, she said, by publicly stating cuts stem from factors like financial pressures, not employee performance, and by permitting interviews during work hours. The additional time also lets workers gather colleagues’ contact details and nonproprietary materials, such as performance reviews, to aid their search, Labovich said.