Good morning!
If you’ve been trying to keep a running list of the latest tech companies to announce layoffs, you’ve probably given up by now. Or at least slacked off on keeping up with the nitty-gritty details. Never fear; we’ve been keeping track over at Fortune.
Deciding how to enact layoffs never gets easier in HR, especially when helping former employees with the transition and providing comprehensive severance packages. But recent layoffs offer a rare side-by-side comparison, at scale, of how companies handle such pay benefits. Salesforce and Twitter are the latest tech companies to provide employees with severance, and they provide an instructional look at how to develop and disseminate layoff pay.
Former Twitter employees received their official severance packages on Saturday, two months after layoffs hit the social media company. (Laid-off employees received their regular salaries before the severance offer since the WARN Act requires employers to give a 60-day notice before mass layoffs.) It’s safe to say, the packages fell short of employee expectations and what they were originally told they’d receive. The package provides laid-off U.S. employees with one month of base pay in exchange for signing a non-disparagement clause and agreeing not to take legal action against the company.
In a tweet last November, Elon Musk said affected employees would receive three months of compensation. Former Twitter leadership made similar promises of at least two months of pay, prorated performance bonuses, extended visa support, health care continuation, and the cash value of equity that would vest within three months, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Salesforce took a more straightforward approach. Affected employees are said to receive about five months of severance pay, as well as health insurance, career resources, and other benefits, according to the company.
Read a full roundup of tech layoffs and severance packages here.
Amber Burton
amber.burton@fortune.com
@amberbburton
Reporter's Notebook
The most compelling data, quotes, and insights from the field.
Despite the fizzling crypto market, the head of Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, believes the industry will rise again. (Hey, I'm just the messenger.) CEO Changpeng Zhao says he plans to increase the firm’s headcount by up to 30% from nearly 8,000.
“There’s definitely damage [but] the industry will be fine,” Zhao told CNBC at the Crypto Finance Conference in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Wednesday. “We will continue to build, and hopefully, we will ramp up again before the next bull market.”
Around the Table
A round-up of the most important HR headlines, studies, podcasts, and long-reads.
- Scammers are preying on recently laid-off tech workers with fake job interviews and offers. Wall Street Journal
- President Biden’s climate change agenda faces a new challenge: There aren’t enough workers to fill jobs. Clean energy companies are offering higher pay and attractive benefits to lure workers to the field. Reuters
- Empty big city offices are becoming emptier due to tech layoffs. Bloomberg
Watercooler
Everything you need to know from Fortune.
BlackRock shock. The world’s biggest asset manager, BlackRock, announced it would cut about 500 employees following major market declines last year. It’s the company's first round of layoffs since 2019. —Silla Brush, Bloomberg
Most likely laid off. Arts, entertainment, and recreation top the list of industries that are most likely to experience layoffs, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. —Megan Leonhardt
9 to whenever. The U.S. is experiencing a labor shortage, and Americans are working fewer hours. That could force employers to hire more workers to maintain previous productivity levels. —Megan Leonhardt
Perfect storm. Employers mandating a return to the office must prepare for the four horsemen: resistance, attrition, quiet quitting, and a diversity decline. —Gleb Tsipursky
This is the web version of CHRO Daily, a newsletter focusing on helping HR executives navigate the needs of the workplace. Today’s edition was curated by Paolo Confino. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox.
