Some are due to mergers and acquisition, some are due to general cost cutting, and others are the result of a strategic reorganization in which new types of roles are born because the company is actually changing focus of their business and new employees with totally different skills are needed.

For example: recently Microsoft announced a massive layoff of involving over 18K employees but at the same time it also announced it was shifting focus in a new direction to meet market growing demand for new types of services. Although the bulk of laid off staff are probably due to cost cutting from the recent Merger and Acquisition last year, company also announced a new vision for their business to ensure future growth.

I think not all mass layoffs are created equally. There may be different reasons for each employee involved in a mass layoff. For example: To cull low performing workers, another for early retirement, another for cost cutting, one for organizational change and etc. Yet they all these employees might be let go under the political cover of a mass layoff.

In this case, company’s financials are good.
The income statement, balance sheet and cash flow look great on paper.

So just because a company announces a layoff, they are actively seeking new employees at the same time. Would appreciate your thoughts on the matter. Please comment, rate and subscribe.