In 2015, I witnessed a troubling incident involving a colleague who had served as the company’s finance manager for five years. As the financial year drew to a close, the CEO decided to implement budget cuts to save money, proposing layoffs as the solution. Despite the finance manager presenting several viable alternatives to avoid job losses, the CEO remained firm in his decision. A month later, multiple employees, including the finance manager, were dismissed.

That same day, while heading home, the finance manager collapsed at the train station due to the immense stress he had endured. By sheer coincidence, a nearby doctor administered aid, provided medication, and helped him regain enough strength to make his way home. He later spent a week in the hospital, suffering from the consequences of the layoff. Despite this, the CEO stubbornly upheld his decision, refusing to consider the numerous solutions proposed by staff to achieve cost savings without resorting to layoffs.

The problem with the “please the shareholders” mentality is that it prioritises short-term profits over the long-term health of the company. Shareholders often focus solely on dividends and stock prices, showing little concern for the company’s sustainability. When profits waver, they demand quick fixes—often in the form of layoffs—to maintain returns. While reducing headcount may temporarily lower costs, the long-term consequences, including plummeting morale and declining performance, can be catastrophic. Driving efficiency is crucial, but cutting costs merely for the sake of it is a surefire way to cripple an organisation.

By preserving inflated CEO and executive salaries at the expense of laying off employees, companies erode their productivity and betray their core values. A Board of Directors that approves layoffs while ignoring alternative solutions is effectively dismantling the social contract between management and staff. Leaders who treat employees as expendable figures on a balance sheet should be held accountable—and removed—before their decisions inflict irreversible harm