Justice @ Work – Layoffs

I’ve just had to tell someone her job has been eliminated. It just doesn’t seem fair.

The thing is, we’re finding it harder and harder to make payroll, and we’re running out of ways to raise cash. There are things down the road, but increasingly the risk is they won’t come soon enough. But the person I just laid off has been loyal, hard-working, has been paid less than her market value, and has accomplished a lot for us. How can laying her off be right?

She is angry and hurt. This is particularly true since someone less experienced than her was retained in the company and is taking over both people’s responsibilities. I’d be angry and hurt too.

I have all sorts of rationale for the decision, including that the person remaining is best fitted for what we need going forward. After all, isn’t a big part of management matching the strengths of team members to the needs of the organization they’re serving? But it’s hard to ignore what the other person has done over the past few years for the company. (I can relate to her feelings too, because it happened to me a few years ago). I can rationalize too that she is so well-qualified, that finding another job should be easier for her than just about anyone else in the company.

What does justice have to say about this? Fairness isn’t really the point – if we got what was fair, none of us would be here in the first place. But justice – or righteousness, which I define as “doing what God would do” – is another matter. It isn’t a simple decision. If I hadn’t done this, we might have ended up missing a payroll altogether, then another, then ultimately collapsing. Several people would have been out of work, including sole bread-winners and immigrants dependent upon their employment with us to keep their legal status.

I wish the Bible was a handbook on justice. It provides some principles, but most of all it provides the character of the God whose righteousness is to be followed. What would this righteous God do? I am honestly not sure. All I can do is try to balance the needs of the company and all its constituents (investors, borrowers, clients, employees and owner) and the personal and family impacts of a lay-off. I think this was the right decision. I have peace about it after prayer, but seeing the pain and hurt is still really hard. Management sucks sometimes!