Though the new year has almost passed its first full fiscal quarter, media layoffs across the entertainment industry have continued to bleed over from last year’s avalanche of job cuts.

The unfortunate trend can still be felt following the COVID-19 pandemic, dual Hollywood strikes and — the latest event to hit Los Angeles hard: a series of wildfires that broke out in January. As the entertainment industry still recovers from several compounding factors, Deadline aims to keep track of changes.

They are listed chronologically from newest to oldest below.

Paramount

Watch on Deadline

June 10 brought the news that Paramount will cut another 3.5% of its domestic workforce, citing linear TV declines.

“As we navigate the continued industry-wide linear declines and dynamic macro-economic environment, while prioritizing investments in our growing streaming business, we are taking the hard, but necessary steps to further streamline our organization starting this week,” the execs wrote.

This latest round came after the company shed 15% of its workforce last year.

Warner Bros. Discovery

Almost a year after its most recent round of layoffs, Warner Bros. Discovery has initiated another round of cuts that will affect the cable side of its business.

Disney

Several hundred employees at the Walt Disney Company went underway June 2, as Deadline reported exclusively. Staffers across divisions of Disney Entertainment like marketing for both TV and film as well as TV publicity, casting and development. Disney’s corproate financial operations are also affected.

RELATED: Disney Layoffs Hit TV Development & Casting Executive Ranks

Business Insider

In the last week of May, Business Insider’s CEO Barbara Peng announced that the outlet would undergo layoffs in a third major round in as many years, reducing the size of the work force and affecting 21%, touching every department. The memo was widely reported by outlets like SF Gate, Variety and more.

Critical Content Furloughs Staff

Critical Content, the production company behind Netflix’s Ginny & Georgia as well as Sylvester Stallon’s Sly documentary, has furloughed a number of its television staff with some employees behing out of work since the end of March. One source reported that the company offers a few paid hours to “keep up appearances.”

Universal International Studios

Universal International Studios were hit with layoffs in the London HQ, Australia hubs and Los Angeles hubs. Deadline was told that the headcount was in the single digit range.

RELATED: NBCUniversal Starts New Round Of Layoffs As SpinCo Begins To Take Shape

Kelsey Balance and Rob Howard were recently promoted at UIS while global scripted SVP Tesha Crawford departed her role. UIS still hopes to replace Crawford in light of the layoffs. Laura Burrows, ex-VP of Production, also departed, and will also be replaced.

Polygon Sale

Vox Media sold Polygon, the video game website, which resulted in mass layoffs. The Writer’s Guild East responded to the development.

LA Times

Fourteen members of the Los Angeles Times were reported to receive layoff notices in the latest round at the publication, according to the L.A. Times Guild.

“This is the third round of layoffs in as many years, and it will leave the Los Angeles Times ever more decimated,” the Guild said in a statement. “Today’s announcement of cuts represent 6% of our newsroom staff.”

NBCUniversal

NBCUniversal has decided to form a spinoff of a new standalone company, SpinCo, that will house cable networks like E!, Syfy, oxygen and USA Network. The Comcast-owned company is also restructuring. Layoffs were first initiated at the end of April in the wake of these moves.

The unscripted teams were hit the hardest with at least two SVPs on the reality side impacted as well as a number working across NBC, Peacock and Bravo, Deadline exclusively reported. Stephanie Steele, SVP Unscripted Current Production, and Jenny Ramirez, SVP Unscripted Formats, were among those let go April 30.

Mattel

The major toymaker of Barbie, Hot Wheels and more will lay off 120 workers as of mid-March 2025.

ABC/Disney

The Walt Disney Company underwent a round of layoffs Wednesday, March 5, that will impact nearly 200 employees, or 6 % of the workforce in the ABC News Group and the company’s entertainment networks.

ABC News underwent a restructuring as a result of the layoffs.

Lionsgate Television

Lionsgate Television also opted for belt-tightening that affected 6 % of its workforce, about 80 employees, following unscripted cuts equating to 5% of the staff in November 2024.

RELATED: MSNBC Taps Scott Matthews As Senior VP Of Newsgathering, Plans To Hire More Than 100 Journalists

CNN

CNN cut around 200 jobs in January 2025.

Allen Media Group

Two Dozen Allen Media Group television stations across the country faced elimination, reassignment or replacement of meteorologists in January.

Meta

The Facebook parent company Meta warned of layoffs of 5 % of its employees across platforms in January.

The Washington Post

In one of the first waves of job cuts to hit the Fourth Estate, The Washington Post faced a round of layoffs that impacted 4% of its total staff.

RELATED: ‘The Bachelor’ Nation: Majority Of Crew Exits Following ‘The Bachelorette’ Pause

2024

After the COVID-19 pandemic, two strikes in Hollywood and with the impact of streaming and the advent of A.I, the media landscape has continued to shift and consolidate, as Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav predicted at the 2024 Allen & Co. Sun Valley Retreat.

Zaslav knows whereof he speaks, with his own company undergoing successive waves of post-merger layoffs over the past two years, the most recent coming in May of this year when the company closed its TV and streaming service Newshub in New Zealand. More than 300 jobs were lost.

Paramount likewise targeted a 3% reduction in its global headcount early in 2024, with additional synergies likely if the Skydance deal closes.

The Fourth Estate has been hit hard. Politico’s estimate counts over 500 journalist layoffs this year alone. That largely began in January with the Los Angeles Times cutting more than 20% of its newsroom. Shortly after that, Time underwent layoffs as well, cutting 15% of its newsroom, according to CNN.

Nexstar

Nexstar Media Group Inc. began belt-tightening measures in December 2024 to cut 2 % of its workforce. The reductions are centered on the company’s local station portfolio, which is the largest in the U.S. The 2% equates to about 260 employees.

TelevisaUnivision

Another traditional media company affected by cord-cutting, will lay off several hundred workers in a restructuring move.

NowThis

According to a statement from the WGA East, “13 of the 21 remaining NowThis WGAE members were laid off immediately upon receipt of an email notice. The layoffs eliminated 3 of 4 members of the publishing team, 3 of 4 video editors, 3 of 7 Producers and Senior Producers, the sole Senior Motion Graphics Designer, the sole Senior Writer, the sole Senior Insights Analyst, and the sole Audience Strategist. The barebones group of remaining salaried workers at NowThis will now be forced to meet tight deadlines and increasing pressure without proper teams to support them.”

Lionsgate

Lionsgate Alternative Television’s unscripted TV arm underwent layoffs Nov. 20 at eOne’s U.S. label.

RELATED: Lionsgate Admits Unscripted TV Division Is “Feeling The Effects Of A Continuing Market Correction”

The Associated Press

The Associated Press announced plans to offer buyouts Nov. 18, impacting about 8% of its workforce, the latest mainstream news organization to grapple with cost cutting.

The CW

The CW began undergoing layoffs Nov. 12. As. many as 35 people were affected, and scripted PR was hit the hardest.

CAA

CAA began reducing staff by an anticipated 20-30 people in early November after beginning the evaluations and reviews that would dictate who gets let go.

SK Global

The independent studio behind Anyone But You and Crazy Rich Asians went through layoffs in November with less than 20 employees affected by the cuts.

UTA

The agency began cutting employees in its talent department, production group, unscripted division and endorsements and licensing.

ABC News

ABC News went through a round of layoffs early in October 2024, which affected 75 employees across ABC-owned stations. The job reductions are split evenly between the two divisions, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Disney

Disney went through another wave of layoffs that affected around 300 people across corporate, legal, finance, communications and HR. Parks, ESPN and Disney Entertainment Television are safe for now. This followed a round of layoffs at the end of July.

ABC Signature has been folded into 20th Television under President Karey Burke with ABC and Hulu Originals scripted drama and comedy teams merging under ABC/Freeform EVP Simran Sethi, who is know President of Scripted Programming for Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment.

RELATED: Disney Entertainment Television Consolidates Casting Of ABC-Hulu-Onyx & 20th TV-ABC Signature

Tracy Underwood stepped down as President of ABC Signature and took an overall producing deal with Disney Television Studios. SVP Erin Wehrenberg, ABC’s Head of Comedy, also stepped down.

The layoffs at Disney Entertainment Television affected 140 people, around 2% of the workforce. National Geographic was the hardest hit with abut 60 people let go, making up 13% of its staff.

Animation studio Pixar reduced 14% of its staff, around 175 employees affected, in May.

Paramount Global

Co-CEO of Paramount Global Chris McCarthy confirmed a second round of layoffs heading for 15% of the entertainment company’s States-side staff. The cuts were made to Paramount Television Studios as the production company was shuttered all together in August.

In September, veteran Tina Koyanagi-Rosener and eight of her colleagues who worked on content strategy were laid off as part of the forecast 15 % cut.

RELATED: Nickelodeon Marketing Exec Sabrina Caluori Exiting Ahead Of Broader Paramount Layoffs

The studio downsized in February with the departure of several key executives who left. The move impacted over 800 employees.

A+E Networks

A+E Networks underwent layoffs in August with cuts to the Lifetime and the History Channel’s programming teams. SVP of Unscripted Development and Programming at Lifetime Amy Savitsky as well as VPs Kim Chessler and Cat Rodriguez were affected as well as A&E’s Peter Tarshis and Zach Behr, VP of Unscripted Programming for History.

Merit Street Media

Dr. Phil McGraw’s news and entertainment network Merit Street media laid off nearly a third of its employees at the beginning of August. The company was partnered with Christian-based Trinity Broadcasting for distribution.

Hearst’s Very Local Streaming Service

Hearst Television let go dozens of employees in early August, Deadline exclusively reported.

RELATED: Paramount+’s Communications Team Dissolved As Layoffs Hit Streamer Hard

Fox Entertainment

Fox Media has undergone staff reductions, cutting 30 employees in July.

The layoffs involve employees across all three divisions, the first two headed by Michael Thorn (network) and Fernando Szew (studios). The search for a new head of worldwide content sales is ongoing, with Tony Vassiliadis leading the team in the interim.

Lifted Entertainment

TheITV Studios-owned production company, which produces Love Island had 15 to 20 roles come under scrutiny. The number represents around 10% of the circa-160-staff Lifted Entertainment operation.

Warner Bros. Discovery

The company has begun another round of layoffs across production, business affairs and finance. This comes a year after a round of layoffs that led to the departure of a number of network executives in its cable business.

Entertainment Tonight

As reported by TheWrap, Entertainment Tonight revealed a round of layoffs that would impact the news desk in TV and editorial departments. The layoffs will take place Sept. 7 ahead of Season 44.

RELATED: CNN To Reduce Staff By About 100 As CEO Unveils New Details Of “One Newsroom” Strategy; Layoffs Include Media Critic Brian Lowry — Update

CNN

CNN reduced its staff by 100, laying off about 2.9% of its workforce, including media critic Brian Lowry and senior tech writer Samantha Murphy. CNN Worldwide CEO Mark Thompson revealed the strategy of merging linear and digital newsgathering with the announcement of cutting 100 staffers.

Chicken Soup for the Soul

Redbox owner Chicken Soup for the Soul originally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the end of June. July 10 saw the parent company of the movie distribution kiosk product shift to a Chapter 7 filing, meaning it would liquidate its business.

The company had around $1 billion in debt, and around 1000 employees went without pay for two weeks and longer in certain cases. Deadline exclusively reported the delays in pay as well as the suspension of medical benefits.

Over 24,000 kiosks shut down as a result of the decline.

Media Matters for America

Layoffs at Media Matters for America affected more than a dozen staffers in May.

Allen Media Group

Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group underwent layoffs in May across all divisions of the company, including The Weather Channel, TheGrio and a motion picture division.

RELATED: Skydance Deal In Hand, Paramount Lays Out What Happens If A Rival Offer Emerges

Noah Media

Producer of Netflix’s 14 Peaks and Sky’s Villeneuve Pironi went through a round of restructuring, laying off a small number of staff.

Netflix

Netflix laid off 15 people in its film department as part of reorganization after Dan Lin took over for Scott Stuber.

Marvel

Marvel made a small round of cuts that affected 15 employees across Marvel Entertainment in New York as well as Marvel Studios in Burbank.

Fifth Season

The studio that produces shows like Severance, Nine Perfect Strangers Season 2, Tokyo Vice and Life and Beth made a round of layoffs at the end of March that impacted nine employees.

RELATED: Roku To Lay Off 10% Of Staff & Launch “Strategic Review Of Content Portfolio”

The Messenger

Less than a year after The Messenger launched (May 2023), the digital news site shut down at the end of January. According to founder Jimmy Finkelstein, every option to raise sufficient capital for profitability was exhausted.

The startup had around 175 journalists employed, and advertising lead to its downfall. Finkelstein faced a class action law suit for nixing 300 employies “effective immediately” with no notice, severance or healthcare.

Time Magazine

Time magazine also slashed its workforce in January 2024. CNN reported that the outlet had laid off roughly 30 employees across editorial, technology, sales and studios departments.

RELATED: Los Angeles Times Lays Off 115 People, D.C. Bureau “Decimated,” Union Blasts “Brutal And Inhumane” Job Losses — Update

Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times Guild criticized the newspaper for the “brutal and inhumane” handling of making cuts to its staff. Media Guild West president Matt Pearce first revealed that 94 guild members were notified of intended layoff, which made up about a quarter of the newsroom. The total number of cuts made came it at around 100.

Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated was issued a warning earlier in January before the 70-year-old print and online publication shut down completely due to a missed payment that Authentic Brands Group reported, revoking the magazine’s publishing license.

YouTube

YouTube laid off over 100 people in January. The moves came after Google laid off more than 1,000 workers across several divisions, including engineering, services and voice-activated product Google Assistant.

RELATED: NBCU SVP Content & Consumer Insights Sumithra Barry Departs Amid Division Layoffs

Pitchfork

Pitchfork parent Condé Nast announced that it would roll the music website into GQ Magazine after laying off staff. The Publishing house’s chief content officer and global editorial director of Vogue emailed a memo to staff explaining the plan moving forward. Pitchfork’s editor-in-chief Puja Patel as well as eight unionized staffers were laid off.

NBC News

NBC News underwent a series of layoffs in January, which affected a double digit number of employees. A source familiar with the plans said that the number of those laid off would be in the 50 to 100 range out of several thousand employees.

Hallmark Media

The home of premier holiday movies went through layoffs early this year in the exec suites. Four jobs were eliminated.

RELATED: Great American Media Undergoes Layoffs; CFO, Head Of Marketing & Corp Comm Among Those Cut

Great American Media

The faith and family-focused Great American Media went through layoffs at the beginning of this year. Roughly 13 people were cut from top jobs.

Amazon Studios

Several employees across Prime Video and Amazon Studios were laid off in early January. Senior execs let go included Nancy Cotton, Arturo Interian, Marcy Kaplan, Chris Castallo and Uri Fleming across different divisions. Most of the exits resulted from the integration of Lindsay Sloane’s MGM Scripted Television team alongside MGM+ and the Barry Poznick-led MGM Alternative TV under Chris Brearton, VP, Corporate Strategy, Prime Video and Studios

This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.

Deloitte is preparing for layoffs.

Three current Deloitte employees told Business Insider they heard on a call Thursday about the company’s plans for its consulting and advisory practices.

On the call, known internally as “A+C On Air,” the CEO of Deloitte Consulting, Jason Salzetti, said that its government and public services practice would part ways with a “small percentage” of its employees this month, one employee who was on the call told BI.

The employee added that Salzetti said cuts in the division would conclude by the end of April.

In a statement to BI, Jonathan Gandal, a managing director in Deloitte’s reputation division, confirmed the layoffs, writing: “We are taking modest personnel actions based on moderating growth in certain areas, our government clients’ evolving needs, and low levels of voluntary attrition.”

It was not immediately clear how many people would be affected by the layoffs.

The government and public services practice has over 15,000 employees in the US and is worth $5.5 billion, according to Deloitte’s website.

DOGE comes for consulting

The firm is bearing the brunt of DOGE’s scrutiny of the federal government’s contracts with the consulting industry.

On Monday, the General Services Administration, which is leading the consulting cost-cutting push, asked 10 firms, including Deloitte, to submit a scorecard detailing their pricing and suggestions for where they could cut costs. The results of those submissions have not been published yet, but the GSA is pushing for deeper cuts, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Since January, at least 127 of Deloitte’s government contracts have been cut or modified — about double the number for Booz Allen Hamilton, the firm second most affected by federal cuts — according to data from the White House’s DOGE office analyzed by BI earlier this week. That amounts to about $371.8 million in cuts, or over 11% of the $3.3 billion in contracts Deloitte strikes with US federal agencies each year.

At Thursday’s meeting, executives acknowledged the recent contract cuts.

Two employees who were on the call told BI that leadership said that Deloitte’s fiscal year, which typically runs June 1 through May 31, would end with higher revenue projections than planned.

All three employees added that they heard on the call that performance bonuses, which are typically paid in June, would be paid as expected this fiscal year.

“I’m expecting a healthy but not jaw-dropping bonus in May, and then not really expecting much of any bonus next year,” one of the employees said.

Employees told BI that DOGE’s actions had shifted the climate at Deloitte, especially for those who work in its public sector practices.

Referring to the slew of tariffs President Donald Trump has proposed since taking office, one employee said: “The tariffs and chaos are beginning to cause alarm bells in commercial as well.”

Deloitte did not respond to a request for comment for more details on bonuses and on DOGE’s effect on company culture.

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at lvaranasi@businessinsider.com or Signal at lvaranasi.70. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here’s our guide to sharing information securely.

Greetings, comms pros! Let’s take a look at a few news stories from the last week and see what we can learn from them.

1. Royal Bank of Canada orders employees back to their desks four days per week

Royal Bank of Canada is the latest institution to move closer to a full-time return to work. According to a report in The Globe and Mail, the bank will transition from a three-day-a-week in-person schedule to four days later this year.

The report cited a memo from the bank emphasizing the importance of employee relationships.

“RBC is a relationship-driven bank and in person, human connection is core to our winning culture,” RBC spokesperson Gillian McArdle said in an e-mail statement. “We set the expectation in 2023 that we’d come together in the office for the majority of the time, with the flexibility to work remotely one to two days a week.”

The decision for more in-office days at RBC aligns with statements CEO Dave McKay has made in the past relating remote work to a drop in productivity and innovation.

Return-to-office memos are nothing new at this point, especially in the financial space. Royal Bank of Canada’s communication of the RTO process pins the motivation for the move on a tie-back to the company’s culture. If you’re going to do an RTO process, that’s the way to talk about it. Focus on how it aligns with the established organizational culture, feature people prominently in messaging about the move and root it all back in what makes the company unique.

2. Business Insider is laying off 21% of staff, CEO says

Business Insider CEO Barbara Peng announced that the publication is cutting 21% of it its roles. In an internal memo obtained by Axios and published on X, Peng said that affected employees would receive an email with next steps within 15 minutes of the memo’s release and would be walked through next steps individually.

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“While today’s changes are what we must do to build the most enduring Business Insider, it doesn’t make them any easier,” the memo read. “We are fortunate to have built a company with thoughtful, kind and creative people around the world, and we are are deeply appreciative of the positive impact they have made within the company and on our readers, clients and partners.”

The memo ascribed the job cuts to a rethink in strategy that’s placing more emphasis on events and AI.

When layoffs announcements do come down, they’re best done when they’re thorough and affected employees hear from leadership. Peng’s message is thorough, provides reasoning for the layoffs and acknowledges the affected employees with a sense of gratitude. Empathy and compassion should lead any layoff notification. In addition, employees shouldn’t be left twisting in the wind; giving them a swift breakdown of the process and having structures in place to answer questions is a must.

Layoff comms aren’t easy and no communicator wants to create messaging for them. But when you do them the right way, you can more easily preserve goodwill and employer reputation.

3. Report: Workers are keeping on-the-job AI use a secret

A report by security software company Ivanti revealed that 42% of workers are using generative AI tools at work — but a third of them are keeping it a secret from their colleagues. The top reasons for doing so included that employees liked having a secret advantage (36%), fear of job cuts (30%) and the fact that their employers had no AI usage policies in place (30%).

This report emphasizes the need for open and honest conversations about AI in the workplace. That’s a role internal communicators should be spearheading. If your company has AI policy in place, comms should be sure to create robust messaging so it’s readily apparent to all employees. If there isn’t one, communicators can work with leadership to draft guidelines.

The best workplace cultures are ones that thrive on transparency. AI usage is here to stay — but if we are more open and honest about it as employees and communicators, we can create policies that help both spur innovation and strengthen workplace cultures.

4. How about some good news?

Have a great weekend comms all-stars!

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports and trivia.

This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.

Microsoft has created new policies and tools for managers as part of an effort to dial up performance pressure on employees, according to an internal email viewed by Business Insider.

Amy Coleman, Microsoft’s new chief people officer, on Friday emailed managers about “new and enhanced tools to help you accelerate high performance and swiftly address low performance.”

There’s a new option for exiting underperformers, and a policy that bars these people from transferring within Microsoft or getting rehired by the company for two years, according to the email.

Many tech companies have been getting tougher on employees in the past year or so. Efficiency has replaced perks and pampering, as performance-based job cuts become more of a regular occurrence.

For instance, Mark Zuckerberg targeted low performers when Meta eliminated thousands of jobs earlier this year. And, similar to Microsoft’s new policy, Meta puts ousted employees on “block lists” meant to stop them from being rehired by the company.

Earlier this year, Microsoft fired 2,000 employees deemed underperformers without severance. Managers spent months evaluating employees all the way up to the executive level as part of changes to the company’s performance review and management process, insiders told BI.

Coleman’s email, in full below, details some of those changes and suggests others on the horizon. Microsoft declined to comment.

“Employees with zero to 60% rewards” refers to employees with low scores in Microsoft performance reviews, which use a scale from 0 to 200 that influences how much they receive in stock awards and cash bonuses.

Read the full email to Microsoft managers:

Managers, Thank you for your patience yesterday with the unexpected technical product issues. As customer zero, this was an opportunity to learn and quickly make improvements. As Satya shared at the recent Employee Town Hall, our success as a company depends on our relevance in year 51 and beyond – in terms of our innovation, the products we deliver, and the impact we have for our customers and partners. With that, our focus remains on enabling high performance to achieve our priorities spanning security, quality, and leading AI. This focus and our growth mindset encourage excellence, motivates us to push ourselves through challenges, and enables us to deliver results. Today, we’re rolling out new and enhanced tools to help you accelerate high performance and swiftly address low performance. Our goal is to create a globally consistent and transparent experience for employees and managers (subject to local laws and consultation). These tools will also help foster a culture of accountability and growth by enabling you to address performance challenges with clarity and empathy. Manager Readiness: FY25 Performance, Connect and Rewards: Register for a 60-minute virtual, facilitated session to dive deeper into the performance landscape at Microsoft. Each session will explore what’s new for FY25 rewards, provide guidance on differentiating rewards outcomes, and define what it means to deliver “significant impact.” Next week, you’ll also see a mail from Performance and Development to all employees with more details on Connects. Clarity and Transparency in Rewards: This year, we’ll ensure more transparency and clarity in the Rewards process for managers including additional guidance for each rewards outcome and showing payout percentages to help you make decisions that align with our high-performance expectations. More Rewards details will be shared by the end of the month. Performance Improvement Process: If an employee is not meeting expectations, you can use the Performance Improvement Plan (PIP), a new globally consistent approach to set clear expectations and a timeline for improvement. The employee can accept the improvement plan or choose to transition out of the company with the offer of a Global Voluntary Separation Agreement (GVSA). This performance improvement process is available year-round so you can act quickly to transparently address performance issues, while offering employees choice. Updated Internal Movement/External Rehire Policy: Employees with zero and 60% Rewards outcomes and/or on an active PIP will not be eligible for internal transfers. Former employees who left with zero or 60% Rewards or during/after a PIP will not be eligible for rehire until two years after their termination date. Manager Excellence Initiatives: Additionally, in the coming months, we’ll launch several initiatives to strengthen how we measures manage, and motivate teams to deliver for our customers. You’ll have access to scenario-based, AI-supported tools designed to help you prepare for constructive or challenging conversations by practicing in an interactive environment. Thank you for your leadership and commitment to driving high performance and accountability across your team. This isn’t just about Microsoft’s success. This is about your success, your team’s success, our customers’ success, and together, fostering a culture where high-performing, winning teams can thrive.

Target CEO addresses staff in company memo – but it may not have landed well.

After ditching its DE&I policies earlier this year and the subsequent boycott of Target stores around the country that caused sales to plummet, Target CEO Brian Cornell released a companywide memo attempting to reinstate a positive work culture after “a tough few months,” according to an employee who shared the memo on Reddit. Cornell addressed the “uncertainty” its 400,000 employees may have been feeling.

He said:

“When we open a new store or supply chain facility, it’s not just about selling goods-it’s about creating hundreds of new jobs in a community, opening the door for someone’s first promotion or helping a team member earn a degree through our education benefits. Every time we grow our business, we’re investing in our team’s future, too.

“I recognize that silence from us has created uncertainty, so I want to be very clear: We are still the Target you know and believe in… You’ll be hearing from us more often, and we want to hear from you, too, Talk with us and your leaders, share your ideas and ask questions so this is the start of an ongoing conversation.”

Cornell addressed the rocky emotions employees might be experiencing and attempted to be reassuring – but he didn’t address how Target will move forward in an upward trajectory.

Some commenters on the thread even pointed out that the memo looks more like corporate-speak than an actual solution to company morale. This is because Cornell really doesn’t address steps he is taking to make changes.

Cornell has an opportunity to reunite his employees and change Target’s somewhat marred reputation. Conversations are great, but action is greater and Cornell needs to layout his game plan with transparency.

Employees react after an unexpected 1,500 are let go from PwC.

PwC has issued its second biggest layoff in less than a year by reducing 1,500 employees from its audit and tax divisions.

According to The Finance Story, employees were notified via a Teams meeting invite late last week.

Employees were notified via Microsoft Teams of a meeting notification followed by an email with severance details, according to the news outlet. Employees did not see the cuts coming, with PwC recently bringing on more staff and the company additionally reassigned staff to different areas, including consulting and advisory roles.

The cuts were unexpected, according to the Finance Story, and employees were left reeling, trying to understand what happened after little was shared.

The news outlet stated that the tone left inside the workplace was grim.

From the report:

“Employees feel blindsided by this decision. Some say communication was lacking, and hiring was misaligned with business reality. Others say it’s a cost play in disguise, wrapped in the language of ‘business needs.’”

One former employee said on LinkedIn following the news,” After 2.5 years of hard work, growth, and meaningful relationships, my time at PwC has unexpectedly come to an end due to the most recent round of firm-wide layoffs—just days before a major milestone I had been working tirelessly toward.”

PwC seemingly left the job cuts unaddressed, with a reportedly cryptic and impersonal call via Teams. This only serves to lose trust from current employees, or perhaps make them anxious about job security.

Companies can be realistic about structural changes and downsizing without shirking their humanity. It’s not only a better strategy to upkeep employee morale, but it’s critical to a more productive work environment – because happy employees, supported employees, do their jobs with more enthusiasm.

Could RTO be an unofficial tool of attrition?

Post-Covid RTO mandates are rolling in and many employees are unhappy. But could this be more than a strategic move for collaboration? What if companies are using RTO as a way to reduce its workforce without having to be the bad guy?

Business Insider recently reported there’s some teeth to the broad speculation, saying:

“Companies are right to believe that making people come into the office will drive some of them away. If I’ve learned one thing from reporting on the RTO wars over the past few years, it’s that people really like the ability to work from home. They like it so much that, on average, they value it as a job perk equivalent to 8% of their salary — a number that may be as high as 25% among tech workers.

“If your business isn’t doing well, or if you need to reallocate head count among departments, it makes sense to force some attrition — especially during a period of economic uncertainty, when virtually no one is quitting their job. By pushing employees to leave voluntarily, employers reduce their payroll without having to provide the departing workers with severance or health insurance. It’s layoffs on the cheap.”

It may not just be about weeding out workers, however. There are some upsides, including cultivating better work culture and more productive employees, according to the news outlet. Executive teams believe there are benefits to working in an office, at least part of the time.

And Business Insider’s reporting shows that some of this true. But the biggest takeaway is that happy employees are productive employees. Using RTO as a means for layoffs is a risk. There’s little control over who will leave, including top talent, and there’s no telling how many employees may bounce on mandated RTO policies. So organizations have to weigh the risk and reward.

The best bet is to communicate. Implement a strategy that works for different kinds of employees. Be transparent about how the organization is doing. Discuss the whys, not just the how’s with employees to help them understand. And hopefully this produces a mutually beneficial working relationship.

How about some good news?

Have a great weekend comms all-stars!

Courtney Blackann is a communications reporter. Connect with her on LinkedIn or email her at [email protected].