Lay-Off Fires Get Them Hired

In the super-slippery job market, ­headhunters find a new avenue for their expertise­—exit management

- Ushinor Majumdar

On the day of the union budget 2017-18, editorial staff of a leading newspaper group was preparing reports and analyses on how it would impact their beats for the rest of the year. At the end of the work day, several employees were told to go to the group’s headquarters in Calcutta for a meeting. Those working in the Ranchi bureau were given an air ticket and checked in at the airport early next morning, wondering what it was about. Was it an appraisal meeting or a strategy meet? They made mental notes on what to say in either case.

A few hours later, they were ushered into a waiting room, where many other nervous employees sat. It slowly dawned upon them that this was an ‘outplacement’ meeting, as, one by one, other employees entered and left the conference room displaying a variety of emotions. One woman reporter ­refused to leave the office and thr­eatened to call the police immediately, another cried and gasped for air, someone refused to go in. Those in the waiting room searched for some sign that their turn would not necessarily mean a pink slip.

Inside the room sat the editor-­in-chief, the resident editor and a representative of the company’s human resources department. It was their job to tell their colleagues that it was the end of their career with the group. It is believed the company was in the red and the new management decided to cut the proverbial flab from the ­editorial department.

After that meeting, the laid-off employees were shepherded into a session with a psychologist, who offered a glass of water and a ­conversation, beginning with a “how are you feeling?” and generally trying to calm them down. Next came an ­interaction with a financial consultant who offered advice on how to budget the severance pay.