The brand impact of redundancies

Over the past few years, we’ve watched a wave of redundancies sweep through some of the world’s biggest industries, tech and banking among the hardest hit.

Meta, Google, Amazon, and Tesla have all made deep cuts. Here in Australia, CBA, NAB, ANZ and Westpac have closed branches and reduced headcount while turning record profits.

For many of these companies, the decision came down to money. Redundancies are often framed as a necessary business move. A clean, fast way to cut costs and reset focus.

But what happens next isn’t clean. And it’s rarely fast.

Because the brand impact of redundancies doesn’t just show up in the books. It shows up in morale, in media headlines, in Slack channels, Glassdoor reviews and customer sentiment.

It can unravel years of carefully built trust, in just a few days.

Redundancy fallout is bigger than balance sheets

In 2023, Meta laid off 10,000 people and labelled many of them “low performers.” Some had glowing reviews. Some were on parental leave. The backlash was immediate, and the employer brand took a hit.

At Google, employees found out they were let go by being locked out of internal systems overnight. A veteran of 18 years quit and posted a widely shared open letter accusing leadership of destroying the very culture that made Google worth joining.

In Australia, banks cut thousands of roles while posting strong financial results. CBA made over 200 jobs redundant and closed 45 Bankwest branches—removing another 350 roles—during a digital restructure (7News, People Matters). NAB, ANZ and BOQ followed similar paths.

These weren’t quiet moves. People noticed. And in many cases, trust was shaken.

Internally: When people lose people

Redundancies don’t just affect the people who leave. They change the way a business feels from the inside.

Every person who exits takes a little piece of the brand with them, the way they embodied the culture, represented the values, connected the dots between teams, or brought energy to a room. When those people go suddenly, and especially without clear communication, it can destabilise what it means to work for your brand.

I’ve felt that firsthand.

I’ve been made redundant three times—twice in agencies, and once in a fintech still figuring out who they wanted to be. One was due to a restructure. One because I was too expensive to keep. Each time, I understood the business logic. But that doesn’t make it easier.

I’ve also been the one left behind. The person trying to support those asked to leave, while helping the team pick up the slack. Trying to keep momentum going when no one knows what the plan is. In each case, communication was minimal. We understood the need to cut costs, especially in agencies, where wages are the biggest line item. But we needed to know what came next. And we rarely did.

That lack of clarity makes it harder to rally. It makes it harder to believe in the brand, or feel proud of the culture. It makes the company’s values feel like decoration, not direction.

And that’s the point where reputations start to slip, not just externally, but from within.

Externally: When the story no longer matches the message

Brand isn’t what you say. It’s what people say about you when you’re not in the room. And when you make mass cuts, there are a lot of people talking.

Redundancies, especially public or poorly handled ones, can make even the strongest brands feel hollow. The story goes from “people-first” to “profit-first” in a single sentence. Customers notice. Candidates notice. Partners notice.

• At Tesla, sudden cuts triggered lawsuits over notice period violations and erased teams that had built critical infrastructure. The brand took a reputational hit for how disposable people seemed to be.

• At Google, what used to be a story of innovation and employee empowerment turned into one of secrecy and blunt force execution.

• In banking, the dissonance between record profits and job cuts eroded trust further, especially in communities already wary of the big banks’ values post-Royal Commission.

In a world where layoffs trend on LinkedIn and ex-employees publish open letters, brand equity becomes something to actively protect—not just something you assume you still have.

The brand impact of redundancies lingers

It’s not always visible, but it’s there. The drop in engagement. The hesitation in job applications. The quiet disappointment in customer feedback.

Reputation doesn’t get destroyed by the act of redundancy itself. It’s how the act is carried out that causes the damage. Poor timing. Confusing comms. Silence from leadership. Performative “thank you” posts on LinkedIn that feel more like damage control than gratitude.

That’s the stuff people remember. And share.

Handled poorly, redundancies can look hypocritical, especially when they clash with values the company has been publicly proud of. But when companies treat people with clarity and care, the fallout can be softened. Even if the pain doesn’t disappear, the respect stays.

If you’re going through it ... or about to ... some things can help.

There’s no perfect way to restructure. But there are better ways to do it.

Some organisations, like Atlassian, have managed difficult cuts with a level of transparency and compassion that helped preserve brand trust. They didn’t pretend it wasn’t hard. They didn’t sugar-coat it. They fronted up, acknowledged the impact, and helped people land on their feet.

There’s no formula here. But the companies that seem to come out stronger usually:

• Explain the why, without hiding behind vague language

• Communicate directly and early—internally, then externally

• Support the people leaving with actual care (not just compliance)

• Give the team staying behind something to hold on to—clarity, direction, hope

This isn’t about looking good. It’s about being consistent with what your brand claims to value.

Redundancies are a brand event, not just an HR one

They’re moments people talk about, write about, and build narratives around. They can fracture culture, rattle trust, and destabilise what it feels like to work for, or with, your brand.

But they can also be managed with care. They can be moments of maturity, of clarity, of leadership. It just takes intention.

Because at the end of the day, the impact of a redundancy isn’t just on the people who leave. It’s on the brand they leave behind.

If you’re facing a period of change and want to protect your brand, your culture and your reputation while you move forward, we’re here to help. Lobos works with businesses to design smart, human-first communication strategies that don’t fall apart under pressure.