November 2026 · Group announcement
Canva
Australia, with staff in 37 countries
A restructure affecting 1,271 people, about 22% of staff: some roles cut, some changed, some asked to relocate to central hubs. The chief executive called it the hardest moment in the company's thirteen-year history and said she was deeply sorry.
What was offered, as publicly reported
- At least six months' salary, including statutory entitlements, regardless of location
- Twelve months of continued healthcare where the company already provided it
- Twelve months of the employee assistance programme, extended to family members
- The one-year equity vesting cliff removed for recent joiners
- One-to-one career coaching, interview preparation and an opt-in alumni talent directory shared with investors and partners
- Departing staff keep their work laptops
- A grant fund for anyone leaving to start a business or community project, with no equity taken
Timing and process vary by country, according to local rules.
Sources: Canva memo, reported by Business Insider · BBC News · Fortune
October 2025 · Group announcement
Amazon
Global, corporate staff
About 14,000 corporate roles cut, roughly 4% of corporate staff, with more cuts that followed in early 2026. A senior executive set it out in a published message. Many people learned their role was going from an email sent to their personal address early that morning, with the option of a video call with HR.
What was offered, as publicly reported
- Most people given 90 days to look for another role inside the company, with internal recruiters putting them first
- Timing varied with local law
- For those who did not move internally: severance pay, outplacement services and health insurance benefits
The 90 days to find another role inside the company is the part to notice. Ask whether yours offers the same.
Sources: Reuters · TechCrunch
May 2025 · Group announcement
Panasonic
Japan and worldwide, half in each
About 10,000 jobs, roughly 4% of the workforce, cut over the year through closures, mergers of sites and early retirement in Japan. The chief executive said he would hand back about 40% of his own pay.
What was offered, as publicly reported
- In Japan: an early retirement offer, reported as aimed mainly at staff aged 40 to 59 with at least five years' service
- Severance and retraining, with details varying by country
- Cuts carried out under the labour law of each country
This one was aimed at people in their forties and fifties. Know whether you are in the group a scheme is aimed at before the letter arrives.
Sources: Reuters · TrendForce, citing Nikkei
December 2024 · Negotiated agreement
Volkswagen
Germany
After strikes and more than 70 hours of talks with the union and works council, the carmaker agreed to cut more than 35,000 jobs in Germany by 2030, about a quarter of the workforce there. No plant would close straight away, and no one would be dismissed for business reasons.
What was offered, as publicly reported
- No compulsory redundancies until the end of 2030
- Jobs to go through early retirement, voluntary buyouts and help finding work elsewhere
- Job security for those who stay, in return for no pay rises for several years and reduced bonuses
- Fewer apprenticeships offered each year
The cut is spread over years and every exit is voluntary. Where unions and works councils are strong, that is what "socially responsible" looks like.
Sources: Volkswagen's published statement · BBC News · Reuters
January 2023 · Group announcement
Google
United States first, other countries later
About 12,000 roles cut, roughly 6% of staff. The chief executive wrote that he took full responsibility for the decisions that led there. Affected staff in the US were told by a separate email.
What was offered, as publicly reported
- In the US: paid through the full notice period, a minimum of 60 days
- Severance starting at 16 weeks' salary, plus two weeks for every additional year
- At least 16 weeks of share vesting brought forward
- Bonuses and remaining holiday paid
- Six months of healthcare, job placement help and immigration support
- Outside the US: support in line with local practice
Later reporting raised questions about staff who were on medical or parental leave at the time.
Sources: Google's published memo · CNBC
January 2023 · Group announcement
Microsoft
Global
10,000 jobs, under 5% of staff, cut over about ten weeks. The chief executive published his memo and committed to treating people "with dignity and respect".
What was offered, as publicly reported
- In the US: severance described as above market
- Six months of continued healthcare
- Six months of continued share vesting
- Career transition services
- 60 days' notice, whether or not the law required it
- Outside the US: in line with each country's employment law
Sources: Microsoft's published memo · CNBC
November 2022 · Group announcement
Stripe
Global
About 14% of staff let go. The founders wrote that they had overhired and that they were fully responsible for the decisions leading to it. Everyone affected was told by email within fifteen minutes, then offered a live one-to-one with a manager within a day.
What was offered, as publicly reported
- At least 14 weeks' severance, more for longer service
- That year's annual bonus paid
- All unused holiday paid, including where the law did not require it
- The cash equivalent of six months of healthcare
- Share vesting brought forward, and the one-year cliff waived for recent joiners
- Career support, immigration help for visa holders, and an alumni email address
Widely cited at the time as a model of how to write the announcement.
Sources: Stripe's published email · Fortune
November 2022 · Group announcement
Meta
Global, US terms published
More than 11,000 people, about 13% of staff, let go. The chief executive wrote that he took accountability for the decisions and for how they got there. Everyone affected got an email, then the chance to speak to someone.
What was offered, as publicly reported
- In the US: 16 weeks' base pay plus two weeks for every year of service, with no cap
- All remaining holiday paid
- The next share vesting date honoured
- Six months of healthcare for staff and their families
- Three months of career support, including early access to unpublished job leads
- Immigration specialists for staff on visas
- Outside the US: similar, under local law
A few weeks later, one group of laid-off staff said it had received about half the promised terms. Check that what you are given matches what was announced.
Sources: Meta's published letter · CNBC
March 2022 · Group announcement, and how not to do it
P&O Ferries
United Kingdom routes, staff contracted through Jersey companies
About 800 seafarers dismissed with immediate effect, many by a pre-recorded video message, to be replaced by agency crew. The chief executive later told MPs the company had chosen not to consult unions, as UK law required.
What was offered, as publicly reported
- Enhanced payments offered to compensate for the lack of notice and consultation
- The company said some staff would receive up to 91 weeks' pay, with a set minimum for everyone
- Unions said the full amount depended on signing away the right to go to a tribunal
Crisis communications specialists called it one of the worst examples they had seen. The money did not repair the way it was done.
Sources: BBC News, the offer · BBC News, the reaction · CNBC
December 2021 · Group announcement, and how not to do it
Better.com
United States and India
About 900 people, roughly 9% of staff, were told on a three-minute group video call, weeks before Christmas: "If you're on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off." Laptops went dark soon afterwards. The chief executive later apologised, saying he had "blundered the execution", and took time away from the company.
What was offered, as publicly reported
- About a month's pay and three months of benefits, as described on the call
- Details by email to personal addresses, which arrived hours later
- Staff in India were reported to have received three months' severance and no benefits
The call lasted three minutes. The way it was done became the story, not the reason for it.
Sources: NBC News · Reuters, the apology · Fortune
November 2020 · Group outsourcing, and how not to do it
Qantas
Australia, ten airports
During the pandemic the airline outsourced its ground handling and dismissed 1,820 baggage handlers, cleaners and ground crew. Their union said many found out over a loudspeaker in the lunch room. The courts, all the way up to the High Court, ruled it illegal.
What was offered, as publicly reported
- At the time: dismissed as the work moved to outside contractors
- Years later: a court-supervised compensation fund for the workers, after the airline lost its argument that it owed them nothing
- A record penalty in 2025, the largest of its kind in Australian history
- A public apology from the chief executive to each of the 1,820 and their families
It took five years and the highest court in the country. Doing it wrongly can cost far more than doing it properly.
Sources: High Court of Australia · ABC News · UPI
October 2020 · Group announcement
Cathay Pacific
Hong Kong and overseas bases
The airline closed its regional sister airline, Cathay Dragon, overnight and cut about 8,500 positions, roughly a quarter of the group. About 5,900 were people in post. The chief executive said it had taken every possible step to avoid job losses before that point.
What was offered, as publicly reported
- Redundancy, mostly within weeks, in Hong Kong
- Overseas staff handled under local rules
- Pilots and cabin crew who stayed were asked to accept new contracts tying pay more closely to productivity, and most did
- Executive pay cuts continued through the following year
Sometimes the offer to those who stay is the harder part. Read the new contract as carefully as you would read a redundancy letter.
Sources: Swire Pacific's stock exchange announcement · Cathay Pacific 2020 annual results · BBC News · CNN
May 2020 · Group announcement
Airbnb
Global, early in the pandemic
Nearly 1,900 of 7,500 people, about 25%, let go as travel collapsed. The chief executive wrote that it was not their fault. Wherever the law allowed, people were told in a personal one-to-one, and the last working day was set a few days later so people could say goodbye.
What was offered, as publicly reported
- In the US: 14 weeks' base pay plus one week per year of service
- Outside the US: at least 14 weeks, plus increases in line with local practice
- Twelve months of health insurance in the US, and to the end of the year elsewhere
- The one-year equity cliff dropped for everyone hired in the past year
- A public alumni talent directory, and part of the recruiting team turned into a placement team
- Four months of career services, and everyone kept their laptop
Sources: Airbnb's published letter · CNBC
September 2019 · Company collapse
Thomas Cook
United Kingdom and worldwide
The company went into compulsory liquidation overnight. About 9,000 jobs went in the UK and many more worldwide, with 150,000 holidaymakers stranded abroad.
What was offered, as publicly reported
- No package: the company had collapsed
- Staff in Great Britain could claim statutory redundancy pay, notice pay, holiday pay and unpaid wages from the government's Redundancy Payments Service, within legal caps
- Redundancy pay only for those with at least two years' service
- A travel agency bought hundreds of the shops and rehired many former staff
When an employer collapses, the safety net is usually whatever the state provides where you live, and it is capped.
Sources: GOV.UK, information for employees · GOV.UK, ministerial statement
September 2008 · Company collapse
Lehman Brothers
New York, London and worldwide
The bank filed for bankruptcy overnight. About 26,000 people lost their jobs, around 5,000 of them in London. The photographs of staff leaving Canary Wharf with their belongings in cardboard boxes became the picture of the financial crisis.
What was offered, as publicly reported
- No package at first: many staff kept coming in for weeks, hoping to be paid
- Thousands moved to Nomura and Barclays, which bought parts of the business, and some later received redundancy pay from them
- A few hundred were kept on by the administrators to help wind it down
- Shares that staff had been paid in, and could not yet sell, became worthless
If a large part of your pay is in your employer's shares, that money is only as safe as the company.
Sources: The Telegraph · i news · The Irish Times
September 2001 · Group announcement
British Airways
United Kingdom
Days after the terrorist attacks on New York, British Airways announced 7,000 job cuts and cut its flying by about a tenth. Senior managers took pay cuts. Some in the industry said cuts already planned had been brought forward.
What was offered, as publicly reported
- Terms were not published as one package; people were dealt with individually
- James was one of them: see his own example below
Sources: Personnel Today, 25 September 2001 · CNN, October 2001