01/25/2024

Lessons Learned from Wayfair’s Communications Snafu

Wayfair cut jobs shortly after its CEO told employees to work harder

Home goods retailer Wayfair laid off 1,650 employees last week, amounting to 13 percent of the organization’s workforce. CEO Niraj Shah said the cuts were needed given the post-pandemic economic reality the retail company faces, and that "having too many great people is worse than having too few," reports RetailDive.

But these job cuts and even the comments from Shah merit a closer interpretation when considering his note to employees last month, telling them they needed to work harder and put in longer hours.

“Working long hours, being responsive, blending work and life, is not anything to shy away from,” he said, according to CNN. “There is not a lot of history of laziness being rewarded with success.”

Please select this link to read the complete article from Ragan Communications.