HR phone call leaks rumors of mass layoffs, all employees retaliate by not working, HR forced to do damage control: 'They'll still sit around and wonder why nobody wants to work anymore'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jul 26, 2025 2:00 PM EDT

It's hard to imagine HR causing this much of a disaster on their own. Most of the time, we cover stories of individuals performing poorly on the job and HR protecting the company over its actual employees. We still have a situation where the latter is happening, but the real mess here happened when HR scheduled a phone call instructing managers about how to conduct a wave of upcoming mass layoffs. Well, the worst thing that could have possibly happened regarding that phone call came to pass. News of the layoffs spread like wildfire, and employees immediately started panicking, strategizing, and jumping ship.

The best payback for this treatment came almost accidentally. After all, when you know that a large chunk of your company is going to be undergoing a massive restructuring, the last thing you're going to be doing is your job. Employees en masse simply stopped getting anything done, and upper management quickly took note of the overall dip in productivity. I think it's fair to say that while layoffs can never go over well, this was a complete mess before they even started.

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    Cheezburger Image 10534383104
    via Unsplash+ (Karolina Grabowska)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • The most amusing part of the story here is the failed damage control that HR attempted to do after news spread about the layoffs. They ended up trying to solve the problem by sending a vague and curt message that only made things worse. We can't imagine it will be easy for the company to recover from this…

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    A couple of months ago, our HR department sent out the obligatory email that our severance and reduction-in-force policies had been updated.
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    A bunch of people saw the writing on the wall, and started looking for other jobs. A bunch of talented, capable people walked out the door.
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    Next, bosses start calling employees to go over their credentials, experience, etc. Then, a couple of weeks ago, there are mandatory HR calls for hundreds of employees with "direct reports."
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    And the calls couldn't have been more callous, shallow, and downright hurtful if they tried. After spending 45 minutes laying down how the (totally confidential) layoff are going to go, it all boils down to:
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    "Make sure to treat these employees with professionalism and respect, but also make sure the cops are right outside the door and have them gone in less than 15 minutes from the time you walked in. Tell them to take what they can carry, and we'll mail them the rest of their sh..."
    via Billiam201
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    The layoffs were supposed to take place over the course of the next three weeks, but after those disastrous calls, people all over the country are packing their offices.
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    In a desperate attempt to stop the bl ding, they decide that now they have 1 week, because thousands of employees are now sitting under the Sword of Damocles and are too busy trying to save their skins to actually get things done.
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    The result, every office suddenly has a contingent of cops arrive, and everyone in the building is quaking in their boots as cops sit in conference rooms, waiting to be taken to another office.
    via Billiam201
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    Nothing gets done, as everyone knows. it's someone's last day, but they don't know if it's them, so they'll be d if they're going to bust their d until someone walks up and taps them on the shoulder.
    via Billiam201
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    Cheezburger Image 10534383872
    via Unsplash+ (Karolina Grabowska)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    So, all day at every office, you have a conference room full of of cops, and every now and then, someone will come out of the conference room dragging two cops, and someone walks out crying and carrying a box.
    via Billiam201
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    Unless of course, they're out of boxes, then they just have to take their word that their stuff will be mailed. Even better, they sent out an email after all the carnage with a few bullet points:
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    "1) We let a bunch of people go, but we aren't going to tell you who they are. You'll just have to find out when you're trying to get a hold of them for stuff you need and their emails suddenly start bouncing back.
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    2) Just because an office is open, doesn't mean you can move in. Anyone moving offices without permission will be subject to discipline. 3) We may have to do this again in a couple of months.
    via Billiam201
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    4) We sent this clarification so everyone would know what's going on, because we know that transparency builds morale." That's right. They sent out an email that basically said "sit in the dark, figure your own sh out and, by the way, don't get the idea that you're safe" to BOOST MORALE.
    via Billiam201
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    And they'll still sit around and wonder why nobody wants to work anymore. ETA: They did pay 2 weeks notice pay, since it's been mentioned more than once.
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    ETA2: Since it seems to pop up a lot. Yes, I mean actual police officers. The guys with the badges and guns. Not "off duty" cops acting like building security. On-duty, uniformed, and armed police officers, badges and all.
    via Billiam201
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    Even better, because it was a "civil standby" situation (at least in the two states I work in) you have to pay for those. You have to schedule it ahead of time, and then you get a bill for the officers rates per diems. They're not cheap.
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    . JustmyOpinion444 · 2mo ago Pack everything up and look for jobs on their time. Take all your PTO when needed for interviews. Heck, tell them why as you call in for a last minute vacation day.
    via Billiam201
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    JW_ZERO. These short sighted layoffs to boost the current quarters profits are going to have disasterous results in the long term for many companies. But as is the case with many of the idiots in charge of these companies, they're so busy picking up pennies that they're missing the dollars flying out the door.
    via Billiam201
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    CommercialBox4175. This is why workers do not owe a 2 weeks notice. Employers will fire you for no reason, with zero notice.
    via Billiam201

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getting fired workplace-stories fired work stories toxic-workplace job fired story work employees human resources Horrible Bosses company toxic-work-environment
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