Fired by email: How mass layoffs are reshaping trust in tech
From Oracle to Amazon, companies are cutting thousands with a click, raising legal risks and long-term damage to workplace culture.
"A few years ago, when I worked at an American startup that was considered a successful unicorn, we experienced cutbacks that were imposed on the Israeli site in a cold email message one day. Beyond the personal insult, it was a lesson in how not to manage a crisis. In my opinion, a real manager does not hide behind a keyboard, but stands in front of employees, explains the path chosen, and respects both them and themselves. We received the email on Sunday, before the American employees, so we warned them about what was about to happen," says a former unicorn employee who was fired by email and asked to remain anonymous.
"I believe that the industry has since learned that the way companies part ways with employees often defines them no less than how they recruit them. As soon as an organization fires people via email, it creates a crisis of trust among the employees who remain, and from there the path to finding a more respectful workplace, especially in such sensitive situations, is short," she says.
But just two weeks ago, software giant Oracle laid off tens of thousands of employees via an email sent at 6 a.m., immediately blocking their access to the company’s internal systems. The company continued a practice among tech giants of firing employees via email, one that increasingly appears to have become the norm.
Without a hearing, without a human conversation, suddenly and coldly, Oracle employees received an email on the morning of March 30 informing them that it was their last day at the company. "After careful consideration of Oracle’s current business needs, we have made the decision to eliminate your role as part of a broader organizational change. As a result, today is your last working day,” the message read.
One of the employees who was laid off, Nina Lewis, wrote in a viral LinkedIn post that after more than 30 years, she was dismissed along with 30,000 others. "Well, after 30+ years at Oracle, I join the 30,000 or so laid off today. Quite a shock. Many of the absolute best colleagues were laid off as well. It seems (BUT I DON'T KNOW), maybe, layoffs follow an algorithm of high level individual contributors and mid-level managers - especially those with outstanding stock options. Not sure what to do next, if anything."
Oracle is not the first tech company to carry out mass layoffs via cold email. In April 2024, Elon Musk laid off more than 14,000 Tesla employees via email sent late at night or early in the morning. Musk opened the message with the words: "Dear Employee." At Tesla, some managers were unaware of the layoffs in advance. Some employees only discovered they had been dismissed when their access cards stopped working or their systems were blocked before they had even read the email.
Before Tesla, companies such as Meta, Google, and Amazon also conducted mass layoffs via email. In 2022, a laid-off employee at Meta received an email with the subject line "Layoffs," stating she would likely be dismissed in order to comply with Israel’s legal requirement for a hearing. "It was very technological. Cold. There was no one to turn to in the early hours," she told Calcalist at the time.
Other methods of mass “cold” layoffs include large Zoom calls in which participants are muted and unable to respond, or pre-recorded messages. The email sent to Oracle employees was not even signed by a specific manager, but rather by "company leadership."
In January of this year, Amazon accidentally sent an email revealing a planned wave of layoffs earlier than intended. Hours later, the company confirmed that 16,000 employees would be let go. This followed a previous round in which 14,000 employees were dismissed via email on October 25. The company offered affected employees paid leave, severance packages, and assistance with job placement.
Unilateral, rapid dismissals without prior communication are perceived as cold and may damage the employer brand of the companies involved. In Israel, there are also legal implications, as a hearing is mandatory before dismissal. We consulted attorney Limor Argov Shenhav, partner and head of the labor law department at Weksler Bergman & Co., to clarify whether dismissals via email are legal in Israel.
"In Israel, the obligation to hold a hearing also applies in cases of layoffs due to downsizing, whether driven by financial difficulties, declining profits, or organizational restructuring," she explains. "In all cases, employers must examine each situation individually and allow employees to present their arguments before a decision is made. Accordingly, an email can at most serve as a means of delivering the final decision, but not as a substitute for a hearing process."
According to her, the main legal risk in unilateral dismissals is exposure to claims of unlawful termination. "The use of email itself is not invalid, provided a proper hearing was conducted beforehand and appropriate notice was given. Without these, employers may face compensation claims and additional legal consequences."
Blocking access to systems immediately after sending a dismissal email does not exempt employers from their obligations. "Even if the employer chooses to prevent the employee from working during the notice period, they must still provide payment for that period," she adds.
She further notes that disconnecting employees from systems without prior notice or a hearing may indicate that the decision had already been made, potentially strengthening claims of unlawful dismissal.
Regarding claims that algorithms are used to determine layoffs, Argov Shenhav explains that while not illegal, such decisions must be based on reliable, fair, and relevant data. "An algorithm cannot replace human judgment or the hearing process. If decisions rely on biased or improper data, employers may face claims related not only to labor law but also to privacy violations."
Moreover, dismissing employees shortly before the vesting of significant financial benefits, such as stock options, may be considered bad faith in certain circumstances. However, if broader business considerations apply, such as downsizing, the dismissal may still be deemed lawful.
But legality does not necessarily equal fairness. Being dismissed is never easy, but the sense that an employer lacks the basic decency to communicate such news personally creates resentment.
In the tech industry, employees are often encouraged to view themselves as part of a family or a unique community, reinforced by internal branding such as "Googlers" or "Meta-Mates." Companies invest heavily in fostering a sense of belonging and loyalty. When those same companies then deliver mass layoffs via impersonal emails, the damage to their employer brand can be severe.
Employees who remain may begin looking for more respectful workplaces, knowing they could be next. Job seekers, too, may gravitate toward companies that demonstrate humanity, even in difficult moments. Ultimately, organizations that treat employees with fairness and dignity, even in layoffs, are more likely to preserve their ability to attract and retain talent in the future.
