Laying Off Employees During Ongoing Change

In 2025, 51% of layoffs at midsize to large companies affected fewer than 50 employees, a sign that mass layoffs haven’t disappeared, but they’re no longer the dominant way organizations reduce headcount. Instead, many employers are making smaller, quieter workforce adjustments spread across the year.

For employers, that shift creates a new challenge: knowing how to manage repeatedly laying off employees without eroding trust, damaging employer brand or destabilizing the remaining workforce. As difficult as layoffs are, today’s leaders — particularly HR, CHROs and business executives— are under pressure to balance financial responsibility with human impact.

Offering outplacement support to departing employees is one of the clearest ways to do that. It helps you handle transitions with care and consistency, and can fundamentally shape how your organization approaches workforce reductions over time.

Laying Off Employees: Why “Small” Layoffs Create Big Risks

Economists have described recent economic conditions as a slow, uneven downturn, shaped by inflation pressure, restructuring, AI investment and changing demand. Rather than needing to eliminate hundreds or thousands of roles at once, companies are continuously reassessing their workforce.

The larger problem is that, when layoffs occur repeatedly, the cumulative impact of laying off employees, even in small numbers, is far greater than leaders often expect.

When employees watch colleagues exit quarter after quarter with no clear end in sight, they draw conclusions. Over time, the stories people tell about how your organization treats its workforce become part of your permanent reputation.

Layoff frequency matters just as much as size

When leaders think about laying off employees, they often focus on scale. Ten people feels manageable. One eliminated position doesn’t seem disruptive. A small team restructure appears contained. But from an employee‑experience standpoint, scale matters far less than pattern.

Repeated layoffs create a persistent state of uncertainty. Employees react to the realization that layoffs may continue indefinitely. That uncertainty compounds over time:

• People stop assuming stability and begin planning exits
• Employees hedge, disengage or prioritize job searching over long‑term work
• High performers (those with the most options) are often the first to leave

Trust leaves with employees and takes a while to repair

When laying off employees becomes a recurring leadership action, it changes how people interpret every decision that follows. Communication and transparency help, but they’re rarely enough to rebuild trust once it’s been strained multiple times.

This is where many organizations underestimate risk. They carefully plan for large reductions but treat smaller layoffs as operational clean‑ups. Employees don’t experience them that way. Each exit becomes another data point in how leadership works under pressure.

How to Lay Off Workers When Layoffs Aren’t a One‑Time Event

Organizations that effectively manage layoffs in an ongoing environment tend to approach the process differently in three key ways:

1. Standardizing dignity

In organizations that lead with consistency and care, every layoff, regardless of size, follows the same principles: a clear rationale and meaningful support. There’s no “easier” version of a layoff experience simply because fewer people are involved.

When roles are eliminated, employees deserve clarity about why decisions were made and confidence that their transition will be handled with care. Providing job transition support, such as guidance on next steps or access to career resources, helps ensure employees leave with direction rather than uncertainty.

2. Planning in chapters

Instead of presenting each layoff as a final event, leaders acknowledge that workforce adjustments might continue and communicate in a way that avoids false finality. Credibility suffers far more from broken promises of stability than from honest acknowledgment of uncertainty. When leaders are transparent about change being part of a longer journey, employees are better able to contextualize decisions and trust that leadership is being forthright rather than reactive.

3. Aligning action with stated values

Many organizations say their people are their greatest asset. Employees test whether that belief holds true during moments of transition. Knowing how to lay off workers in a values‑aligned way means backing words with actions that extend beyond the termination meeting.

Showing care for employees by helping them prepare for what comes next signals that respect doesn’t end when employment does. That consistency matters to departing employees and those who remain.

Outplacement Support Is the Critical Constant During Rolling Layoffs

During rolling layoffs, the question is about how people leave and what their departure signals to everyone else watching. When reductions in force happen over time rather than all at once, every exit becomes part of an ongoing narrative about leadership, stability and trust.

Outplacement assistance provides structured, professional assistance that helps individuals move through a career transition in a way that’s clear, supported and forward‑looking. This support typically includes:

• Personalized career coaching based on an individual’s role, career stage and goals
• Interview preparation and a job search strategy
• Job‑market insight that reflects current hiring conditions
• Clear, realistic pathways forward even in competitive or uncertain markets
• Digital tools and resources that accelerate time to re‑employment

Outplacement services are often viewed as a benefit reserved for large reductions or senior‑level exits. That approach made sense when layoffs were rare, concentrated events. It breaks down completely when laying off employees becomes an ongoing reality rather than a single disruption.

During rolling layoffs, outplacement assistance serves departing employees just as much as it serves the broader organization. For those leaving, it provides structure at a moment when uncertainty is highest.

For remaining employees, outplacement support sends an equally important message: If change comes for you, you won’t be left on your own. That reassurance creates psychological safety in an otherwise unstable environment. It reduces survivor’s guilt and helps critical talent stay engaged rather than quietly preparing their exit.

For future talent and the broader market, outplacement assistance shapes your reputation over time. As rolling layoffs continue, the story people tell shifts away from whether layoffs happened to how your organization handled them. Organizations known for supporting employees through transitions are remembered very differently than those perceived as moving people out quietly and quickly.

Laying Off Employees Without Outplacement Assistance: The Hidden Long‑Term Costs

Companies sometimes hesitate to provide outplacement support for smaller layoffs due to cost concerns. While that hesitation may feel understandable in the short term, it overlooks the long‑term operational and financial consequences of unsupported exits.

Without outplacement, organizations commonly see:

• Higher voluntary attrition among remaining employees
• Longer recovery times for productivity after each reduction (71% of remaining employees report lower motivation following layoffs)
• Greater difficulty attracting candidates once hiring resumes
• Increased legal and reputational risk driven by negative exit experiences

Individually, these impacts may seem manageable. Collectively, especially when layoffs continue over time, they far exceed the investment required for outplacement support. Once an organization is known for handling exits poorly, every subsequent layoff reinforces that perception. Repairing employer‑brand damage requires considerably more time and cost than preventing it.

How to Lay Off Workers While Protecting Your Employer Brand Over Time

Employer brands are rarely damaged by a single layoff. They erode through patterns. This makes knowing how to lay off workers one of the most important leadership capabilities in today’s workforce. Protecting your employer brand during ongoing layoffs means integrating outplacement assistance into your workforce strategy.

This means planning for outplacement at the same time roles are evaluated. Instead of asking, “Does this layoff justify outplacement support?”, leaders need to ask, “What happens if this isn’t the last layoff employees experience?”

That shift in thinking changes how your organization makes every workforce decision. Outplacement support becomes a stabilizing force that preserves dignity during exits, eases anxiety among those who remain and protects long‑term talent attraction.

Make Outplacement Support a Core Part of Every Workforce Reduction

A layoff might be the end of an employee’s role with your organization, but it's also the beginning of a different responsibility. Making outplacement support part of every workforce reduction makes sure that departing employees have the guidance, resources and confidence they need to move forward.

Right Management’s outplacement services are designed for exactly this reality. Human-centered, coaching‑led approach gives transitioning employees personalized support that reflects their experience, career goals and current labor‑market conditions.

Outplacement works best when it’s woven into your broader workforce strategy. When integrated early, our experts can fully understand each employee’s background, skills and career objectives. From there, we tailor support based on their employment history and next‑step needs. This depth of insight produces more meaningful guidance and better outcomes.