WSJ What’s News The New Corporate Playbook for How to Do a Layoff
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Nov 17, 2025 
Chip Cutter, a workplace reporter for The Wall Street Journal, discusses the chilling new tactics companies are using for layoffs, including texts and listen-only calls. He reveals how HR's push for efficiency is reshaping emotional responses in the workplace. Meanwhile, Jared Diamond, a sports reporter, dives into the surge of prop betting in professional sports, explaining how online platforms have created new in-game market opportunities and how leagues are adapting to these evolving risks.
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Efficiency Over Empathy In Modern Layoffs
- Companies are prioritizing efficiency and scale when delivering mass layoffs, using texts, emails, and listen-only video calls.
- That speed reduces in-person emotion but creates perceptions of heartlessness and harms employer reputation.
Scaling Communications For Mass Separations
- Employers scale layoff communications to handle thousands of separations quickly and uniformly.
- Companies favor simultaneous remote notifications to control timing and reduce on-site emotional scenes.
Condé Nast Confrontation Goes Public
- At Condé Nast, employees confronted an HR executive after Teen Vogue changes, and video of the encounter spread online.
- The company then fired and suspended participants, prompting protests and legal attention from the New York Attorney General.