50 Ways to Botch Your Layoffs

50 Ways to Botch Your Layoffs

Author: Observatory on Corporate Reputation LLC November 20, 2025 Duration: 27:26
Communication Breakdown
Business NewsNewsBusinessManagementMarketing
In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll break down two corporate communication failures shaping headlines this week. First, they explore the Wall Street Journal’s catalog of mass-layoff missteps, analyzing why companies keep choosing speed over dignity and how media coverage is normalizing inhumane practices. Then they turn to Marriott’s collapsed partnership with Sonder, where guests were evicted mid-stay with little warning. Steve and Craig examine how a breakdown in partner communication became a direct reputational hit to Marriott and what it reveals about the CPR triangle of claims, perceptions, and reality. For PR and communications pros, the episode offers a clear look at how operational failures become communication crises when empathy and continuity disappear.

Takeaways
  • Mass emails and glitchy digital notifications turn layoffs into dignity failures, eroding internal trust long after the cuts.
  • Companies misread cautionary tales as permission structures.
  • Telegraphing layoffs creates prolonged fear, productivity collapse, and early attrition of top performers.
Topics Mentioned
layoff communications, digital notifications, employee dignity, internal trust, media normalization, trend reporting, telegraphing layoffs, employee anxiety, rumor dynamics, partnership risk, customer continuity, CPR triangle, hospitality communications, brand liability, crisis amplification, operational incompatibility, integration risks, narrative control

Companies Mentioned
Amazon, Target, Southwest Airlines, Marriott, Sonder, Bloomberg


Episode Hashtags
 #Amazon #Target #SouthwestAirlines #Marriott #Sonder #Bloomberg #CorporateCommunications #CrisisComms #InternalComms #ReputationManagement #Layoffs #Leadership #BrandTrust #HospitalityIndustry #StrategicComms #PublicRelations #ShawnPNeal #AdvoCast #OCRNetwork








Communication Breakdown is a production of the Observatory on Corporate Reputation.
Hosted by Craig Carroll and Steve Dowling.
Produced in partnership with Advocast and  Shawn P Neal.

For questions, feedback, or episode suggestions, reach out at podcasts@ocrnetwork.com

Communication Breakdown is a sharp, fast-moving podcast for PR and communications pros who want to understand what really happens when reputations are on the line. Hosted by OCRs Craig Carroll and Steve Dowling, each postgame-style episode breaks down how organizations navigate high-visibility crises, product launches, policy debates, and other make-or-break moments in the public eye. Drawing on experience from institutions like USC Annenberg, UNC Chapel Hill, OpenAI, and Apple, the hosts dissect real-world cases, exploring what worked, what failed, and why. Listeners can expect candid analysis of messaging, leadership, media strategy, stakeholder management, and internal alignment, all grounded in current events across news and business. Whether youre in marketing, management, or corporate communications, listen episodes of Communication Breakdown to sharpen your judgment, stress-test your own strategies, and better anticipate how communications decisions play out when it matters most.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 86

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