Being laid off can be really traumatic. I still remember my feelings after being let go. Anger, fear, pain, embarrassment, and a lot of self-pity are just a few of the most indelible. Well, let me tell you, there is life after being laid off, and very often it’s an improvement.
By the way, if you have been laid off recently, you’re not alone. The tech industry has laid off more than 124,000 employees so far in 2024. Affected companies include Cisco, Intel, Netflix, Upwork, Meta, IBM, Google, Microsoft, etc. One source suggests that 384 tech companies have executed layoffs this year. And it’s not just tech: Citi, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock, PwC, Pixar, Paramount, and many others have also let people go. [See source.] Granted, these are all employee counts, and not just executives.
But why is this happening now? One source cites several major influences: higher costs due to inflation and lingering higher interest rates, fear of impending economic downturn after such a long bull run, early impacts from artificial intelligence (AI), pandemic over-hiring, and outsourcing and offshoring—particularly to Southeast Asia. [See source.]
Layoffs have actually declined versus prior years. But knowing that does not help much if you have recently been affected. |
Our studies of the roughly 11 million executives in the US, EU, UK and Middle East suggest that about 500,000 positions change hands every year. [See A World of Executive Opportunity.] So a certain amount of this churn is simply normal. In fact, layoffs have actually declined versus prior years. But knowing that does not help much if you have recently been affected.
Better news is that our clients who have been laid off are landing and telling their success stories. They prove my point that life after layoff is indeed often better than before. Here are a few of their many stories rendered in a very brief summary:
If you get a severance package, try not to waste it. Invest it in yourself instead to quickly put yourself on a new and better career path. |
But let me stress that the very first thing to do is to feel your grief, rage, pain, and not deny it. Also, if you get a severance package, try not to waste it. Invest it instead, for example, in hiring TBG to quickly put yourself on a new and better career path. Need proof? Read Results Don’t Lie! It’s the ROI! In any case, as soon as you reasonably can, shake off the self-pity and refocus your eyes on the horizon. That is a key element in our targeting step—the Clarity Program©—that helps clients rethink their career paths and orient to a more enjoyable, lucrative, and satisfying professional trajectory.
Are we specialized in one industry or another? No. Look at the clients listed above. They represent a broad range of industries, and if you want even more data on that point, read Look Who’s Landing for a deep dive on our clients’ recent successes. In fact, our five-step program works in any industry due in part to the more than 30 years we have spent developing it, but also, due to the expert support clients receive from their six-member client teams.
So it is no wonder that Forbes has cited us for a fifth year as one of the best in the business.
It is undeniably painful to be laid off. No question about it. But as soon as you can, do what thousands of executives before you have done and find relief by hiring The Barrett Group to discover your new and better life after layoff.
Peter Irish, Chairman
The Barrett Group
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