Timing, culture and clarity all matter when considering holiday layoffs, says expert, offering tips for HR
As Canadian employers edge into the 2025 holiday season, layoff headlines are again colliding with festive messaging as major employers such as Bell and most recently Algoma Steel announce major layoffs just ahead of the holidays.
Against that backdrop, HR leaders might be wondering about a common conundrum: If layoffs are unavoidable, is it better to act before Christmas or wait until the New Year?
While there are benefits and consequences for both, employers should focus less on timing and more on strategy, according to Peter Tingling, associate professor of management information systems.
“There's only one day that you ever want to let somebody go, and that's the day before they were going to resign anyway,” he says.
“In which case, you just gave them a $50,000 or $100,000 kiss goodbye, and they're very happy.”
While there may not be an explicitly “good” time to lay off employees, Tingling says, there are some times that are worse.
He notes that employers often know for some time that reductions are coming but cannot share that information early. Even so, he believes HR and leadership teams should think hard about the specific harms associated with December layoff announcements.
“December is one of the worst times,” he says, pointing to several factors such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), financial pressures from...
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