In many cases, companies fire thousands of employees by video call or with a pre-recorded video.
In 2009, the movie “ Up in the Air ” showed how an expert company in downsizing “innovated” with layoffs via video call.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has made remote work increasingly common, and with it, remote firings as well.
Goodbye by video call or email
At the end of 2021, we learned that the CEO of mortgage lending company Better fired 900 employees via video call.
The case of the top executive, who mismanaged $200 million, is not the only one.
The caravan case
The same thing has happened recently at Caravana , a used car website in the United States. Workers woke up to a tragic email: The company announced it was laying off 2,500 people, but did not specify who.
As Protocol learned from a Caravana spokesperson , just under half of the 2,500 layoffs were announced by Zoom .
“It was just like, ‘You’re fired. Here’s your compensation package. Have a good day,” a person affected by the “purge” told Protocol .
Booking also “sent on vacation” remotely
The well-known travel reservation company Booking opted for a remote dismissal a few weeks ago.
With cold pre-recorded video, the CEO of Booking laid off 2,700 customer service employees around the world.
As a “consolation”, the company offered employees to join Majorel, a company that Booking will subcontract for its customer service. Of course, with six months where their current conditions are ensured.
If you find Booking customer service with unmotivated people, this may be the reason.