Securing layoffs without being an a**hole

Layoffs are hard. It’s hardest on the employees who get let go. But it’s also hard on the security and IT teams who often have to act as the “executioner” of their friends. Doing layoffs securely can be a daunting task, often done with little time in advance and constantly changing requirements from senior leaders. Balancing security and empathy can feel like a clash of ideals, but it doesn’t have to be this way. You can do layoffs in a way that minimises impact to individuals and reduces risk to the company at the same time.

We’ve had to lead the security side of layoff processes a number of times during our careers. We’ll be taking you through actionable examples from our past, what we wished we knew back then and how to make the process a tiny bit less painful.