Coping after teammate's layoff

Question

I'm part of a large company, which announced layoffs last week. I was part of a team of 5 (now 4), and my teammate in the US got laid off (I work in India). I joined the team around 5 months ago. I cannot fathom why she was chosen cos she was quite productive, sent around 3-4 PRs a month, got all her work done, owned a few components and seemed quite knowledgible. I know nothing of her track record before this time but i am sure it wouldnt be far off from this benchmark.

I feel really sad about this because we were told its performance related but i really dont think it was. What's more is that we have a ton of work in our team which would now get delayed because of losing a team member. My hunch is that she didnt shout about her work from the rooftops in all the forums (read as less visibility) and so that lowered her score a bit. As a fellow woman in tech, i cant seem to shake off the thought that she was misjudged as being less capable. I think i need some closure. If anyone has any idea how these decisions are made at the executive level, that would really help. Thanks!

Alex Chiou · Accepted Answer

Unfortunately, layoffs are usually random and "performance reasons" are often thrown as a cop-out. We talk about this more here: "Are layoffs random or can I do something to prevent getting laid off?"

I think what you mentioned about socializing her wins could be the reason. Sexism could be another reason (even if women communicate a lot, they are often perceived as being annoying while men are perceived as being leaders). Maybe a mix of both of these and some other reasons. It's impossible to tell 🥺

It's easier said than done, but my advice is to not think about this too much. In the meantime, you should reach out to her with your well wishes and try to talk to her, maybe even on a recurring basis (once every month or quarter). In times of darkness, I always try to responding by creating light and positivity. It's the easiest way to move on: "Aftermath of layoffs?"

One last thing: Always assume that every engineering executive is an idiot 😂 (until proven otherwise). This way you won't be surprised when they make terrible decisions.

Coping after teammate's layoff

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