UK 
United States
Redundancy may at times appear indiscriminate, often it has to be a process of reducing headcount by the many; whatever the rationale, ensuring it is for fair reasons and striving to transform toxic environments can be a game changer when the time comes to take the bullet.
Life’s a rollercoaster – said many a song and pal alike and never more so when redundancy comes a-knocking as it inevitably does in the long and windy career road. You’re lucky if you emerge unscathed. For many it’s a thankful relief from a toxic work environment but still a trauma, for others a shock and a pit of despair and anxiety. Whichever side of the coin you fall – what’s shared by all is that it’s a ‘no man’s land’ when you are spat out the otherside, suddenly unemployed - a betwixt and between space akin to those heady yet strange days post-Christmas and pre New Year – long hours smattered with the guilty pleasure of a hedonistic ‘nothingness’ - a time unscheduled, a Covid-lockdown with a similarly attached no release date. HR Grapevine spoke to two experts to see how to play the long redundancy game and win.
Firstly, the employer needs to ensure that a genuine redundancy situation has arisen; namely, business or workplace closure and reduction of workforce
Forbes reports that in the first four weeks of 2024, big players like Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, TikTok and Salesforce let go of around 25,000 employees. There are myriad reasons for this and many are cyclical – there was too much spending in 2023 which is causing problems in 2024, artificial intelligence is starting to take root and usurping the need for bodies on the ground in some industries, mergers and acquisitions are shedding staff as they unify, a post pandemic spending spree on hiring is slowing down and many businesses are turning away from headcount swell in favour of outsourcing where they can cut their cloth according to as and when they need services. It’s a brutality of external factors and what this means for many employees is that they need to watch their backs and some. It can hit at any time and for many it can be devastating particularly when commitments to mortgages and other outgoings are high.
