Communications About Kobe Bryant

NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and seven others died in a helicopter crash, and many are mourning the loss. At the Emmy’s, celebrities paid tribute to his life, and the NBA postponed a Lakers—Clippers game.

The helicopter company, Sikorsky, owned by Lockheed Martin, posted two tweets and a short statement on its website:

We extend our sincerest condolences to all those affected by the January 26th Sikorsky S-76B accident in Calabasas, California. We have been in contact with the NTSB and stand ready to provide assistance and support to the investigative authorities and our customer.  Safety is our top priority; if there are any actionable findings from the investigation, we will inform our S-76 customers.

Discussion:

• Analyze the Sikorsky messages. Who are their primary and secondary audiences? What are the communication objectives, and how well did the company achieve them?

• Have you seen other communications from Sikorsky? Should the company do or say more? If so, what?

Panera Extends Social Media Listening

Panera responded to complaints about its Bistro French Onion soup with a clever approach: hiring the character Phyllis from “The Office” TV show.

The restaurant chain had promised that the soup would return, but it didn’t, and fans protested on social media. In addition to actively responding to customer complaints on social sites, Panera created a video showing a fake social media manager and Phyllis, as a social media coordinator.

The approach shows that Panera is listening and responding to customers, and it helps customers see the company’s point of view.

Discussion:

• What’s your view of the video? How would you describe the potential impact in a few words?

• More specifically, what are the communication objectives for this video message? Consider the audience and what the company hopes customers will do, think, and feel differently after watching the video.

Carlos Ghosn's News Conference

Former head of Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA Carlos Ghosn delivered a news conference from Lebanon after his escape from Japan. Ghosn was arrested in Tokyo in 2018 for misreporting income and misusing company funds. He left through a well-orchestrated exit in a box by private plane to his home country.

In what the Guardian calls “a lengthy and often rambling press conference in Beirut,” Ghosn spoke in four languages to defend himself. He criticized the Japanese criminal justice system and accused the Japanese government of working with Nissan executives to conspire against him.

Ghosn was adamant about his innocence:

“I don’t consider myself as a prisoner in Lebanon. I prefer this prison to the one before. I am ready to stay a long time in Lebanon, but I am going to fight because I have to clear my name.”

The Japan Times reports that the new conference “will have done little to turn the tide of public opinion in Japan and restore his reputation, which has been tainted by his alleged financial wrongdoing.” A former prosecutor in Japan said, “Ghosn didn’t have anything substantive to say. If he wants to restore trust, he shouldn’t do a self-absorbed speech like he did, but he should calmly make specific explanations and present evidence supporting those explanations.”

Discussion:

• Watch parts of the news conference. How well does Ghosn restore his image and prove his innocence?

• How should Ghosn communicate differently if he wants better outcomes?

Boeing Internal Documents Don't Reflect Well on Safety

The lead article in today’s The Wall Street Journal is titled, “Internal Boeing Documents Show Cavalier Attitude to Safety.” In 150 pages of emails and other documentation, employees worry that they don’t have enough time to correct safety issues and refer to regulators as “morons” and “stupider.”

In February 2018, one employee wrote, “Would you put your family on a MAX simulator trained aircraft? I wouldn’t.” A pilot wrote, “I still haven’t been forgiven by god for the covering up I did last year. Can’t do it one more time. Pearly gates will be closed.” Still another employee wrote, “This airplane is designed by clowns, who in turn are supervised by monkeys.”

A defense attorney argues that employees were just “blowing off steam” in their emails.

In the past few months, Boeing’s culture has come to light—once lauded as a place where people felt proud to work but now a place where people feel stressed and remorseful. CEO Doug Muilenberg has since been terminated and replaced temporarily by CFO Doug Smith.

Image source.

Discussion:

• Read more about the internal communications. What lessons can employees and their managers take away from this story?

• What’s your view of the emails? Do they indicate big problems at the company, or is the attorney right that employees are just venting to each other? How does the concept of “cherry picking” come into play?

• What should Boeing do to manage this situation? Consider this news in light of the company’s crisis communication planning you read about in another post.

Facebook Memo Goes Public

Facebook executive Andrew Bosworth wrote a 2,551-word memo about the company’s role in the upcoming election and more. Bosworth compliments President Trump’s use of Facebook ads and admits that the site impacted the 2016 U.S. election. A Vox article describes Boswell’s logic:

Bosworth’s memo has much more in there, which is getting plenty of deserved attention, including the assertion that Facebook did indeed help Donald Trump win the 2016 election — by giving him the tools to run “the single best digital ad campaign I’ve ever seen from any advertiser. Period.” And the memo also reveals that Bosworth, a self-described “committed liberal,” fantasizes about using Facebook to prevent Trump from winning in 2020, but won’t.

The memo is also attracting attention because Bosworth compares Facebook to sugar and places responsibility on the user: “At the end of the day we are forced to ask what responsibility individuals have for themselves."

Bosworth ends the memo with a question:

To bring this uncharacteristically long and winding essay full circle, I wanted to start a discussion about what lessons people are taking away from the press coverage. My takeaway is that we were late on data security, misinformation, and foreign interference. We need to get ahead of polarization and algorithmic transparency. What are the other big topics people are seeing and where are we on those?

Boswell image source.

Discussion:

• Read the entire memo . What surprises you most?

• How damaging is the memo to Facebook’s image, particularly with another election coming up? How does a memo like this—posted on an internal site—become public?

• What business writing principles does Bosworth follow, and how could he improve the memo?

Accountability in the News

Two situations this week remind us that CEOs should take accountability for mistakes in their companies.

On an investor call, Home Depot CEO Craig Menear said retail theft is on the rise:

“This is happening everywhere in retail. We think this ties to the opioid crisis, but we’re not positive about that.”

Menear faced criticism on Twitter for blaming the opioid crisis rather than taking responsibility for product loss at a warehouse.

On another call, Costco CFO Richard Galanti talked about losses because of a website crash:

"It was unfortunate. Despite all the efforts to have plenty of processing capacity, if you will, there was something that occurred." He also acknowledged, “[W]e did leave something on the table.”

In both situations, the executives could be more direct.

Discussion:

• Do you agree with my assessment? Why or why not?

• What evidence should Costco provide to back up its claim?

• What else could the executives have said differently? (Hint: Note Galanti’s use of passive voice.)

• In addition to accountability, what leadership character dimensions are illustrated by these examples?

JPMorgan Recorded Phone Conversation

Jimmy Kennedy, an African-American former National Football League player, tried to open a private wealth account at JPMorgan but had trouble getting attention. He recorded a conversation with an African-American employee, Richardo Peters, who said, “You’re bigger than the average person, period. And you’re also an African-American. We’re in Arizona. I don’t have to tell you about what the demographics are in Arizona. They don’t see people like you a lot.”

In a New York Times article that published the recording, Peters recounted a specific example of discrimination against a Black customer. When he was trying to bring on another new client, who had received a large settlement, his manager said, “You’ve got somebody who’s coming from Section 8, never had a nickel to spend, and now she’s got $400,000, What do you think’s going to happen with that money? It’s gone.” His manager’s position was that the customer would not invest money with the bank.

Other incidents at the bank led to Peters’ termination, and he is suing for racial discrimination. JPMorgan also recently settled a class-action lawsuit for $24 million to Black employees who claimed discrimination: according to a New York Times report, “in some cases by isolating them from colleagues and dumping them in poorer branches.”

A few days later, CEO Jamie Dimon addressed the situation in a memo to employees.

Discussion:

• How do you assess this situation at JPMorgan? Read more in the NYT article.

• A February Essence article describes and praises JPMorgan’s Advancing Black Pathways program to support the Black community. What’s your view of the effort in light of this news?

• How do you assess CEO Jamie Dimon’s response in the memo? We don’t see the entire memo, but CNBC posted quotes.

Why Entrepreneurs Don't Learn from Their Mistakes

A Wall Street Journal article describes research about failing entrepreneurs. The results are sobering: start-up business owners don’t seem to learn from their mistakes.

Francis Greene, at Edinburgh University Business School, explains several reasons for lack of learning. First, when entrepreneurs start new businesses, they have a different context and different customer, so any lessons learned from previous businesses might not apply. Greene also says that businesses typically “limp along”; during this slow-close process, it’s difficult to identify what the real problems were.

Finally, as you might expect, we have psychological barriers for failing to learn from failure. We tend to simplify reasons and blame external factors.

Greene suggests taking time to explore what happened after a business failed and ensuring that we have the industry expertise to succeed in the next venture.

Failure image source.

Discussion:

• This reminds me of Amy Edmondson’s HBR article, “Strategies for Learning from Failure.” What similarities and differences do see in their research findings and recommendations?

• When have you failed? How did you learn from the experience? Can you identify ways to learn better in the future?

Meanings Behind OK, K, and kk

According to a New York Times article, the way to “scare your young co-workers” is to type “O.K.” instead of “kk.” A young worker explains:

To write “O.K.” or “K,” they tell me, is to be passive-aggressive or imply that I would like the recipient to drop dead.”

The article puts this generation gap in perspective:

A parting thought: Sociolinguistic research — which, until recently, tended to treat gender as binary — largely indicates that young women are the drivers of language change. (The authors of a frequently cited 2009 article from the journal “Language” found that men often lag “a full generation behind” — perhaps because they “retreat from or resist a change after it becomes associated with women.”) I don’t know for sure if the co-workers you mention are women but, on the off-chance you work with any, it’s never a bad time to remind yourself that studies (and women) find that women who talk at work are regularly dismissed, interrupted or ignored.

Mickey OK image.
Kk image.

Discussion:

• What’s your view of the differences among “Okay,” “O.K.,” “OK,” “K,” and “kk”? Do you see them the way this article describes? What, if any, role does gender play in your interpretation?

• The article reminds me of a 2015 study about periods in texts, apparently a signal for something dramatically final instead of how I use them—to end sentences like this one. How has punctuation use in texts changed over time?

Communications Criticized at Syracuse University

A Chronicle of Higher Education article says that communications at Syracuse University “didn’t help” the racial issues. In the past few weeks, videos, slurs, and drawings, such as swastikas, culminated in a rumor that a “white-supremacist manifesto” was sent to students’ phones. The manifesto was said to be a copy of the one associated with the March New Zealand shootings, and Chancellor Kent D. Syverud responded, “It was apparent that this rumor was probably a hoax, but that reality was not communicated clearly and rapidly enough to get ahead of escalating anxiety.”

The response didn’t address student concerns, which have been bubbling for years. Syverud was criticized for his response in 2014 during campus protests about climate. To the recent racist incidents, students are demanding quicker and more direct action. The chancellor’s choice of words is also at issue, as expressed by Mona Lisa Faz, a graduate student of communications:

“Since when did calling someone the n-word or creating a swastika in the snow ever count as bias?” she wrote in an email to The Chronicle. She called Syverud’s response “a whitewashing and playing down of what is really happening. I get you don’t want to alarm people, but I’m a Latina, and when you play down a hate crime, THAT is alarming to me and my community.”

The University is trying to catch up, posting a chart showing students’ demands and actions taken.

Notes image source.
Protest image source.

Discussion:

• Read more about the Syracuse University situation. What were the administration’s major missteps? How can they best recover now?

• What’s your view of the chart? What works well about this approach, and how might it fall short?

• Some are calling for the chancellor to resign. Should he? Why or why not?

• What leadership character dimensions are illustrated by this situation?

Prince Andrew's BBC Interview Does Not Go Well

Prince Andrew took a BBC interview to explain his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, who had served prison time for having sex with a minor. The Duke of York spent a night at Epstein’s mansion, which some victims called a ”House of Horrors.” The Duke is shown in photographs, along with photos of young women coming into and leaving the house. One woman claims that, when she was 17, she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew. Since that time, Epstein committed suicide in jail, where he was facing sex trafficking charges.

Prince Andrew told the BBC interviewer, “I kick myself for on a daily basis because it was not something that was becoming of a member of the Royal Family and we try and uphold the highest standards and practices and I let the side down, simple as that."

When asked about his stay at the mansion, Prince Andrew replied, "It was a convenient place to stay. I mean I've gone through this in my mind so many times. At the end of the day, with a benefit of all the hindsight that one can have, it was definitely the wrong thing to do. But at the time I felt it was the honourable and right thing to do and I admit fully that my judgement was probably coloured by my tendency to be too honourable but that's just the way it is."

He also referred to Epstein’s behavior as unbecoming: “Do I regret the fact that he has quite obviously conducted himself in a manner unbecoming? Yes.” When questioned, he said, “I’m sorry. I’m being polite. I mean in the sense that he was a sex offender.”

Responses to the interview have been negative. Since the interview, AON, Cisco, KMPG, and a British charity have removed or are considering removing their brand affiliations with the prince’s name and his work.

Prince Andrew has since tweeted his sympathy and decision to “step back from public duties for the foreseeable future.”

Discussion:

• Describe the arguments for and against Prince Andrew’s decision to take the BBC interview.

• Looking at the BBC interview, do you think he could have handled the situation better? What could he have done differently?

• Analyze the prince’s tweet. What’s your view of that decision and communication? How well is the prince managing the fallout?

• What leadership character dimensions are illustrated by this situation?

Letter from WeWork Employees

As WeWork plans layoffs, employees are asking for input into what happens to them and their peers. Referring to themselves as WeWorkers Coalition, the employees wrote a letter to the management team.

To the We Company Management Team:

WeWork’s company values encourage us to be “entrepreneurial, inspired, authentic, tenacious, grateful and together.” Today, we are embracing these qualities wholeheartedly as we band together to ensure the well-being of our peers.

We come from many departments across the company: building maintenance, cleaning, community, design, product, engineering and more. We believe that in the upcoming weeks we have the unique opportunity to demonstrate our true values to the world. This is a company that has inspired many of us, challenged us, and has been a formative personal and professional experience for those of us who began our careers here. WeWork has been not just a workplace, but a source of friendships and inspiration along the way.

We also believe our product can have a lasting positive impact on the world. We want to improve workplace happiness for millions of office workers and support small and medium sized businesses in their entrepreneurial efforts. We have been proud to support these goals and dedicate our time and talent to achieve them. This has been our story so far.

Recently, however, we have watched as layers are peeled back one-by-one to reveal a different story. This story is one of deception, exclusion and selfishness playing out at the company’s highest levels. This is a story that reads as a negation of all our core values. But this story is not over.

Thousands of us will be laid off in the upcoming weeks. But we want our time here to have meant something. We don’t want to be defined by the scandals, the corruption, and the greed exhibited by the company’s leadership. We want to leave behind a legacy that represents the true character and intentions of WeWork employees.

In the immediate term, we want those being laid off to be provided fair and reasonable separation terms commensurate with their contributions, including severance pay, continuation of company-paid health insurance and compensation for lost equity. We are not the Adam Neumanns of this world — we are a diverse work force with rents to pay, households to support and children to raise. Neumann departed with a $1.7 billion severance package including a yearly $46 million “consulting fee” (higher than the total compensation of all but nine public C.E.O.s in the United States in 2018). We are not asking for this level of graft. We are asking to be treated with humanity and dignity so we can continue living life while searching to make a living elsewhere. In consideration of recent news, we will also need clarity around the contracts our cleaning staff will be required to sign in order to keep their jobs, which are being outsourced to a third party. Those of us who have visas through WeWork need assistance and adequate time to find a new employer to sponsor our respective visas.

In the medium term, employees need a seat at the table so the company can address a broader range of issues. We’ve seen what can happen when leadership makes decisions while employees have no voice. We will need to see more transparency and more accountability.

We also need the thousands who maintain our buildings and directly service members to receive full benefits and fair pay, rather than earning just above minimum wage.

We need allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment to be taken seriously, acted on immediately and resolved with transparency.

We need diversity and inclusion efforts to materialize into real actions, not just talking points at company meetings.

We need salary transparency so we can surface and address systemic inequalities.

We need an end to forced arbitration contracts, which strip employees of their right to pursue fair legal action against the company.

We need all of this, and more.

In the long term, we want the employees who remain at WeWork, and those who join in the future, to inherit something positive we left behind. We want them to never find themselves in this position again, and for that to happen, they need a voice.

With this letter we are introducing ourselves, the WeWorkers Coalition. We are taking full advantage of our legal right to establish this coalition, and in doing so, we hope to give the future employees of WeWork the voice we never had.

We want to work with you. Please join us in writing a better ending to this chapter of the WeWork story.

By this Thursday at 5:00 p.m. EST, we would like to receive confirmation of your receipt of this letter and an indication of your willingness to meet us.

The WeWorkers Coalition

@weworkersco • info@weworkersco.org • #weworkers-coalition

Image source.

Discussion:

• What principles of business writing do the employees follow?

• What persuasive strategies do they use in the letter? Find examples of logical argument, emotional appeal, and credibility.

• What do you consider the strongest and weakest arguments?

• What leadership character dimensions are illustrated in this situation?

Conversational Voice Tone for Polling

Pollsters have a tough time getting people to answer their phones, no less answer questions about who they might vote for in the next presidential election. With such low response rates, callers have to sound conversational and personable, just as business presenters have to engage to their audience.

In a Daily Podcast, pollsters describe how to avoid sounding robotic, which is particularly difficult when you’re “reading off a screen.” The same applies to presenters who read from their notes or slides.

Discussion:

• What principles of voice tone do the pollsters’ examples in the audio clip illustrate?

• How can you apply these principles to your business presentations?

CVS Apologizes to Puerto Rican Customer

A Purdue University engineering student showed his Puerto Rican identification card to two CVS employees who said he couldn’t buy cold medicine. The customer service representative and a supervisor at the Indiana store said he needed to show a valid U.S. ID card or visa. Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens.

José Guzmán Payano told reporters his point of view:

"And then when she asked me for a visa, I was in shock at that time. It wasn't worth talking anymore. It is weird because we're such a broad campus at Purdue. There are people from everywhere. But I can't use my ID from Puerto Rico? Not even my passport? This shouldn't happen here. Period."

Guzmán Payano also explained the situation to his mother, who relayed the story on Facebook, which attracted attention. Although Guzmán Payano filed a complaint with CVS, it took more than a week for the company to respond—after the story appeared in a local newspaper. The company told The NY Times this was an “an isolated incident,” and confirmed, “We absolutely recognize Puerto Rican driver’s licenses to be a valid form of U.S. identification.

A spokesperson for CVS said the company will investigate:

"We are committed to ensuring that every customer receives courteous, outstanding service in our stores, and we apologize to the customer for his recent experience. We are fully investigating this matter to learn more about what occurred."

CVS exterior image source. CVS interior image source.

Discussion:

• In Guzmán Payano’s mother’s Facebook post, she wonders how this could have happened: “Was it his accent? Was it his skin color? Was it the Puerto Rican flag on the license?” What do you think?

• How well has CVS handled the situation to this point? What, if anything, should the company have done differently? What should they do now?

• In an updated post, Guzmán Payano’s mother asks people not to harm CVS employees. This isn’t the first time we have seen violent reactions following social media posts. What’s your view of this?

EY's Training Program Considered Sexist

Ernst & Young delivered a training program for female executives about a year ago, and it’s coming back to bite them. Critics say the program was sexist and cite the following as an example:

In the session in question, attendees were told be “polished,” have a “good haircut, manicured nails, well-cut attire that complements your body type,” it states on Page 36 of the 55-page handout. But that’s followed by a warning: “Don’t flaunt your body―sexuality scrambles the mind (for men and women).”

The criticism became public because a former partner is suing the firm for harassment.

In response, EY said, “Any isolated aspects are taken wholly out of context,” and that the program received positive evaluations. They did, however, say the program “is no longer offered in its current form.” The company also issued this statement:

“We are proud of our long-standing commitment to women and deeply committed to creating and fostering an environment of inclusivity and belonging at EY, anything that suggests the contrary is 100% false.”

Discussion:

• Read the former partner’s letter to EY. What are her strongest and weakest arguments? What is your overall reaction to the letter?

• What’s your view of the company’s response?

• What leadership character dimensions are illustrated by this situation?

Astros Executive Fired After Yelling at Female Reporters

Brandon Taubman, assistant manager of the Houston Astros baseball team, was fired after comments made to female reporters. The situation became more complicated because the team, at first, criticized a Sports Illustrated reporter, Stephanie Apstein, and called her article, “misleading and irresponsible” and a “fabrication.”

In the team club house, after a game, Taubman yelled at the female reporters, “Thank God we got Osuna. I’m so f------ glad we got Osuna!” The MLB suspended Osuna for 75 games because of a domestic violence charge, and the Astros took a PR risk in hiring him. A Sports Illustrated writer criticizes the team’s decision:

But in truth, the Astros' front office acts as if it is tired of being yelled at about this subject. They want to be allowed to play their baseball games and pop their champagne without being forced to think about anything that happened away from the ballpark.

The team’s first response of defending Taubman didn’t stick. They later issued a statement apologizing to both the group of female reporters and Apstein.

Ernst & Young is scrubbing its website of ties to Taubman, who worked for the firm. EY is facing its own trouble following criticism about a training program for women.

Taubman image source.

Discussion:

• What’s your view of the situation—both Taubman’s outburst and the Astros’ response?

• Analyze the team’s statement. What leadership character dimensions does this illustrate, and how does it fall short? What could be improved?

• Did EY do the right thing by trying to disassociate with Taubman? Why or why not?

Women in the Workplace Report

Lean In and McKinsey have co-published a report about women at work. The report concludes, “Five years in, we see bright spots at senior levels. But companies need to focus their efforts earlier in the pipeline to make real progress.”

According to the findings, although more women have higher level positions than they did five years ago, they still face obstacles. One stumbling block is getting that first management position. Another is how women are treated at work. The report identifies particular challenges for “only” women—“being the only or one of the only women in the room at work.”

The report is a good example of a well-organized, beautifully designed report with clear graphics, such as this one. However, the axis is truncated.

Discussion:

• Describe how the axis is truncated. What problems does this create?

• What surprises you about the report findings? What, if anything, doesn’t surprise you?

• Describe the report organization.

• Which graphics do you find most and lease useful?

LeBron James Enters the Tweet Debate

As the NBA struggles to recover after Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey tweeted in support of Hong Kong protesters, LeBron James questioned Morey’s choice:

“Yes, we all do have freedom of speech. But, at times, there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you’re not thinking about others, when you’re only thinking about yourself. . . . I believe he wasn’t educated on the situation at hand, and he spoke. And so many people could have been harmed, not only financially, but physically, emotionally, spiritually. So just be careful. . . .”

The Wall Street Journal reports that people were “stunned” by his comment because James is typically careful about his public comments.

Discussion:

• What’s your view of James’ commenting on the situation? Should he have avoided commenting? Why or why not?

• What’s your view of his comments? How well did he handle the situation?

• What leadership character dimensions are illustrated by James’ comments?

NBA Tweetstorm

The NBA is thrust into a political quagmire after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted in support of the Hong Kong protesters: '“Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.” The tweet has since been deleted.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is dancing a line between protecting Morey’s free speech and staving off China’s backlash. Critics say the league is driven by profit instead of principle. He has tried to clarify his position:

“It is inevitable that people around the world — including from America and China — will have different viewpoints over different issues. It is not the role of the NBA to adjudicate those differences. However, the NBA will not put itself in a position of regulating what players, employees and team owners say or will not say on these issues. We simply could not operate that way.”

At this point, The Wall Street Journal reports better news:

“The situation appears to have de-escalated. After a week of blistering anti-NBA rhetoric in Chinese media, the government is signaling that it’s time to cool it, a message that includes the vitriol directed at the Rockets, according to one person familiar with the situation.”

But the Journal also acknowledges: “China’s love affair with the Rockets might not be the same again.”

Discussion:

• Should Morey have avoided sending the tweet? Why or why not?

• How do you assess the league’s response to the situation?

• Analyze Silver’s news conference. What did he do well, and what could he have done differently?

Layoffs Planned at WeWork

After a failed IPO and questions about its leadership and financials, WeWork is planning to downsize. New co-CEOs Artie Minson and Sebastian Gunningham warned employees to expect layoffs but said they will be handled “humanely.”

The new leadership had already prepared employees: "While we anticipate difficult decisions ahead, each decision will be made with rigorous analysis, always bearing in mind the company's long-term interest and health." The new information gives employees a better sense of what will come.

But news stories aren’t consistent. Fortune reports 2,000 layoffs or about 16% of WeWork employees affected, while Dice reports 5,000. Dice acknowledges differences in reporting.

Affected employees could be in business segments that will be spun off, so they may still have a job. WeWork may try to sell Meetup, Managed by Q, and Conductor brands.

Discussion:

• Assess WeWork’s communications to employees so far. Even if the percentage were clear, the number of layoffs may change. Are the new leaders doing the right thing in giving an estimate now?

• Employees know layoffs are coming “soon.” Should they have more specific dates? Consider whether this is a good idea.

https://fortune.com/2019/09/25/wework-new-ceos-memo-employees/