From Microsoft to Google to Meta, many of the world's biggest tech companies have been announcing layoffs recently. Their explanation is usually that they overhired and need to cut costs. But Harvard Business School professor Sandra Sucher, who has been studying layoffs for years, says companies often underestimate the downsides. Layoffs don’t just come with bad publicity, she explains. They also lead to loss of institutional knowledge, weakened engagement, higher turnover, and lower innovation as remaining employees fear risk-taking. And she says it can take years for companies to catch up. Sucher is a coauthor of the HBR article "What Companies Still Get Wrong About Layoffs."

Hugh Carnegy, a senior editor who oversees corrections at the Financial Times, and Sandra Sucher, a Harvard Business School professor, dive into the messy world of workplace mistakes. They analyze the recent CrowdStrike software outage and discuss strategies for owning up to errors. Hugh emphasizes the importance of transparency in journalism, while Sandra explores how organizations can rebuild trust after failures. Together, they unveil the financial repercussions of mistrust and how sincere apologies can rejuvenate relationships at work.