Member Exclusive: The return of coordinated layoff comms

Starbucks' orchestrated layoff announcement contrasts with the chaotic process playing out in U.S. federal agencies

By Mike Prokopeak, director of learning and council content

Starbucks said on Monday that it will lay off 1,100 corporate employees and eliminate hundreds of unfilled open positions. It's among the largest round of job cuts in company history, according to the Wall Street Journal. 

The move comes after CEO Brian Niccol signaled last month that operational cuts would be coming as he grapples with a series of quarterly sales declines.

While the news is not pleasant for employees, Starbucks' coordinated communications approach stands out in contrast to the chaotic "fork in the road" approach taken in the federal sector under Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency.

Related Article: A layoff comms checklist

Starbucks announces layoffs

The announcement came down on Monday as Starbucks instructed hybrid workers to stay home this week. Managers would reach out to affected workers by Tuesday with information about severance and transition assistance, and the company would inform employees about larger structural changes by the end of the week. 

This phased approach to layoff communications resonates with a chapter-based practice used by CLC member REI during a recent round of layoffs:

• Chapter 1: Day of change – share actions the organization will be taking.
• Chapter 2: Week of change – reground in who you are.
• Chapter 3: 1-2 weeks after change – digest and unpack.
• Chapter 4: 2-4 weeks after change – illuminate the road ahead.

REI started that process with an all-hands call from CEO Eric Artz letting employees know there would be a difficult change that day. Previously, they would have told affected employees first. While Starbucks opted for a broad announcement rather than an all-hands, the approach is similar: Communicate openly with the company about what is happening.

REI senior manager of communications Nicole Bernard explained their approach:

“It was going to impact everyone because there would be people on their team that were leaving, and everyone impacted would know shortly,” said Bernard.

Combined with an honest answer to a question during a December town hall about whether a RIF could be coming, the conversation was already out there. Artz laid out each step in this phased plan from the outset.

“Our CEO said, ‘Today, think about yourself, care about your people and your team, and we’ll come back to you tomorrow to tell you about how we’re still the same company that you think we are,” recalled Bernard. That phase would include understanding org changes and next steps over the coming week.

Artz continued by emphasizing that employees would have ample time to digest and unpack, both with their team and with the full headquarters and leadership team. The focus of this was creating clarity and providing answers to their questions.

Finally, Artz would focus on illuminating the road ahead, “and what the rest of the year looks like based on these goals that we’ve set out to stay on track and not have to do this again.”

“We were able to let employees feel more psychologically safe in that moment,” Bernard said, sharing their sentiment that employees knew a RIF was coming, and hearing leaders be upfront about it allowed them to feel empowered and focused to do what they needed to do in that moment.

It’s the job of the communications team to coordinate moments like large-scale layoffs carefully and with empathy. As the conscience of the company, communicators can help ensure the company treats employees with dignity and also positively shapes the external narrative.

A sequence of coordinated chapters maintains and rebuilds trust and helps the company emerge stronger from a difficult moment. The order that communicators bring to the process can be the difference between a painful, but temporary setback and a long-term source of distrust and disengagement.