Bosses resort to layoffs euphemisms amid backlash fears

Layoffs in the first month of 2024 have left tens of thousands without jobs, with the tech industry alone cutting 32,000 roles. The way the bad news is delivered is more important than ever, as companies fear being canceled on social media after a poorly executed final conversation. Executives are using all kinds of euphemisms to avoid being straightforward with their employees.

Harvard Business School professor Sandra Sucher said that delicate language is the result of “moral disengagement,” a harm-doer’s effort to rationalize and soften the action for themselves. Ultimately, the meaning is the same to the worker: They’re losing their job.

“The fact that you’re calling it downsizing or an org change — which it very well probably is — doesn’t mean that workers are not going to feel something as a result of what you’re doing,” said Sucher.

A lexicon to describe layoffs euphemistically became more common in the late 1980s and 1990s as job cuts were normalized, according to Sucher. Previously, layoffs were more rare, and mostly the result of a manufacturer closing its plant in a town.

In early December, Spotify Technology SA opted for the term “right-sized” in its letter announcing job cuts. Citigroup Inc.’s statement in November referenced a “simplified operating model” to describe its plans to cut 20,000 jobs. At Meta Platforms Inc., Mark Zuckerberg referred to “org changes” in a lengthy memo that included an array of personnel shifts at the company, including job losses. And United Parcel Service Inc. announced a “workforce reduction” of 12,000 people during its most recent earnings call. “We are going to fit our organization to…