With job layoffs sweeping the tech, financial, and other industries, why wait to be fired when you may be hired right away?
The strategy, known as “career cushioning,” is putting together a backup plan while still working full-time, especially if job cuts are anticipated. This is normally done quietly, such as a networking call at lunch or reconnecting with old coworkers.
Some Amazon.com Inc. employees are taking it a step further, openly declaring on LinkedIn that they are #OpenToWork while still employed by the corporation. It’s all there for everyone to see, even their bosses and bosses’ bosses.
Kayla Look, a recruiting coordinator, is one such Amazonian. Look stated in an interview that she was anxious when layoffs were announced in November because the holidays were approaching, she had just graduated from college the year before, and she was in the middle of organizing a wedding. The costs and uncertainty were piling up.
The uneasiness began when the Seattle-based company halted hiring a few weeks ago. She felt she could breathe easier after surviving the first wave of layoffs, but when the firm announced that it would be cutting 18,000 employees rather than the anticipated 10,000, her sense of relaxation vanished.
She knew it was time to be proactive. “It’s been two and a half months since the worry of being laid off first started,” she said. “I’m tired of being anxious.” Her managers don’t know any more than she does, so there’s no one to answer her questions, she said.
Amazon says it was a “tough decision” to lay off workers
“We don’t take these decisions lightly or underestimate how much they might affect the lives of those who are impacted,” Amazon Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy wrote in the most recent note on the upcoming cuts, which will be especially concentrated in its People, Experience, and Technology department. “We are working to support those who are affected and are providing packages that include a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support.” Amazon declined to comment further.
When one of Look’s team managers wrote on LinkedIn last week that she was #OpenToWork, it was like a green light. “She’s one of my leaders – I should follow after her if she doesn’t seem confident in our odds,” she explained. “Because I’m still new to the workforce, I felt like if I do this I’m not showing loyalty and therefore I’m going to get cut. But no – it gave me reassurance that it’s ok to look out for yourself.”
The banner, which LinkedIn debuted in 2020 following the release of Covid-19, has been a more familiar sight on the network as layoffs spread throughout the tech industry.
Despite her desire to remain at Amazon, Look has been sending out resumes
Robin Ryan, a career counselor who works across the lake from the e-commerce giant and has advised many people trying to join (or leave) the company, views the posts as a type of pushback – a way of saying, “Hey, I can go somewhere else.”
The recruiter’s job is difficult at Amazon, which has 1.5 million employees: “The turnover is incredible. The majority of them are leaving because it is an extremely stressful place to work “Ryan stated. Recruiters have a large number of roles to fill, many of which are highly technical and require extensive sourcing and thorough interviews.
Those who have been put through months of uncertainty are likely to feel resentment, according to Ryan. And, like Look, many in recruiting are entry-level individuals who do not make the huge salaries that seasoned engineers do. They typically don’t have much left over after rent, vehicle payments, and other obligations, making the idea of losing their work even more terrifying.
Bloomberg News viewed more than a half-dozen #OpenToWork posts from existing Amazon workers. Last month, other employees, some of whom accepted voluntary buyouts, sent identical statements.
“In this case, you’re trying to bring people into the organization, and they’ve just kicked you out,” Ryan said.
