I have a question.

25 Comments

1. Glenport LifeJanuary 6,2022 at 3:58AM UTC

   Yes they do seasonal hires... UPS, other retailers hire from Thanksgiving thru Jan then drop employees but usually they tell you up front of you are a seasonal or fulltime worker.

2. AnonymousJanuary 6,2022 at 4:00AM UTC

   The new year is generally when budget cuts and new strategies are implemented abd the yearly plan is set in stone. That means changes to resources and hiring happen generally in the first quarter.

3. C AllenJanuary 7,2022 at 1:31PM UTC

   You are correct, but it's also the time where a lot of companies are HIRING. Ying and Yang. If you are concerned about your position, now is a good time to begin a productive job search!

4. AnonymousJanuary 7,2022 at 6:46PM UTC

   It's good they at least waited until after the holidays. In my experience, I've seen layoffs due to budget cuts in mid-December for the end of the 4th quarter or at the end of a fiscal year in late June. I always thought it was cruel to ruin their holidays. I agree that January is a great month to start a new job.

5. AnonymousJanuary 8,2022 at 1:23PM UTC

   Depends on the industry/business.
   For a lot of companies where their budgets run from January - December and work is expected to be low in the upcoming quarter, yes I have seen lay offs happen in December/January or anytime during the 4th quarter really. Also in a lot of companies I worked in, the concept of “future of work”, also known as - let’s find a cheaper way to fill some operational roles i.e. hire/contract consultants, so I see lay-offs happen anytime at random during the year really.

6. GirlBossanova934974January 8,2022 at 1:30PM UTC

   Most companies avoid firing people during the Christmas holiday period. It looks very bad. That being said, some companies do layoffs in JAN. However as a few have already said, this is the same time a lot of recruiters start to really hit the LinkedIn-Monster-Indeed pages and go looking for candidates for new jobs or replacements. My phone and LinkedIn account have been barraged this week with unsolicited inquiries. So best to have that LinkedIn profile up to speed and updated with all the latest things you have done.

7. AnonymousJanuary 8,2022 at 2:47PM UTC

   GirlBossanova, what type of work do you do and what industry are you in?

8. Courtney MadiseJanuary 8,2022 at 3:07PM UTC

   Good to know. I always wondered when the hottest recruitment cycle was. I've heard the same about not firing during the holidays. Hiring in Jan makes sense also maybe if it's just before a bonus payout.

9. Shannon DubosJanuary 8,2022 at 7:06PM UTC

   I was laid off right before Christmas and I thought it was a bold move. But they were going through an acquisition unbeknownst to me. So that most likely had something to do with it!

10. AnonymousJanuary 8,2022 at 1:48PM UTC

    In the larger companies I've worked for, thinking back, layoffs did often occur in January. There is an advantage to that though. Don't know when you started but on your resume you can list it as yyyy-2022 instead of -2021 and given you will get another job before December, years from now you won't have a gap.

11. AnonymousJanuary 8,2022 at 2:30PM UTC

    In my experience, they do it at the end of the year, probably so they don't have to pay out bonuses to the employees in March, even if the bonuses reflect their work for the year they were fully employed.

12. AnonymousJanuary 8,2022 at 3:18PM UTC

    A lot of it depends on the industry that you currently work in. For example, if you are working in the construction industry (depending on what specialty area you are working in within the trades) you may be laid off every winter and rehired every spring due to lack of work. For those that are retail workers it is quite common to be laid off after the holidays. So, like I mentioned above, it varies quite a bit, depending on what industry you work in.

13. Amy GeffenJanuary 8,2022 at 3:18PM UTC

    Agree with most comments. End of the year after holidays so they don't look like Scrooge. January is a great time to look for another job. Rcruiters are looking for good candidates so get your job search into gear.

14. Shannon DubosJanuary 8,2022 at 3:31PM UTC

    I was let go right before Christmas. A lot of people said it looked bad laying me off before the holidays. So I imagine most companies wait til right after the holidays to do it.

15. Beverly RuyleJanuary 8,2022 at 3:42PM UTC

    A lot of it has to do with budget alignment

16. IntrapsychJanuary 8,2022 at 4:14PM UTC

    It depends on several factors for example if the work is temp contract or seasonal work. It could also depend on how severe performance/behavior was in question. It also might reflect how human management is in their practice. Some managers don't like to relieve someone during the holidays because of how devastating this could be on the individual and their family. Most likely they already decided to let the employee go but waited to deliver the bad news until after the holidays.

17. AnonymousJanuary 8,2022 at 4:26PM UTC

    Right before the end of the year and in the first quarter of the year are both pretty common, unfortunately. Sorry this happened to you and I hope you are able to line up something new quickly.

18. AnonymousJanuary 8,2022 at 8:05PM UTC

    It's rotten, but uncommon.

    My supervisor, who was a friend and mentor, was let go just before Christmas. Her supervisor called me to tell me that it was a difficult thing to do, because her work and her work ethics were outstanding. Then he told me not to worry about my own position because my work was outstanding. Somehow that inspired me to start sending out resumes.

19. Shannon DubosJanuary 10,2022 at 7:13PM UTC

    Funny how that is!! It’s crazy how easy it is for companies to let go of quality candidates.

20. GlennJanuary 8,2022 at 8:29PM UTC

    As some have said, it's tied to budget, but I'd say it's more to do with the individual company than industry.

    Many companies use 12/31 as the end of their fiscal year, so they're looking to clean up their books as that date approaches (or shortly thereafter if company trends won't be clear until after the year-end financial reports are completed). But an industry like finance pays most of its bonuses in late 1Q (after FY close -- those companies are also usually on 12/31 FY) and they know a number of such employees have lined up offers (in the current highly mobile "great resignation" economy) with the understanding they will resign shortly after that payout, so the companies are also bracing to hire to fill those departures then. So it's a good idea to ask someone at your company when your FY ends. Then you'll know more about when departures (voluntarily or involuntarily) are more likely to happen.

21. Karen GongawareJanuary 8,2022 at 8:45PM UTC

    Retail sales slump after the holidays . my family business lays off all part time for 1 month then starts calling back in Feb and all back by march. No work till then.

22. Bradford McCormickJanuary 9,2022 at 5:33AM UTC

    I got laid off (I like the British way of saying it: I got made redundant) 15 June 2018, with a bunch of other people. The company apparently had a brain glut. We did get a half-decent severance: 1 week pay per year of employment. If you don't need the money it can be the greatest thing in your life. I started recovering from my work induced PTSD and then got on with growing my soul studying all day (I finished my formal education 2 decades ago but had forgot all of it doing my job. If you are not bankrupt, leisure can be the greatest ewalth.

23. Hilary OborghayujieJanuary 10,2022 at 10:19AM UTC

    It depend on the Company strategic plan for the year and the employment type that drives the lay off.

24. AnonymousJanuary 10,2022 at 1:45PM UTC

    While I understand that it is a business decision based on budgets and projections for the coming year but if we are still in the midst of the "Great Resignation", why are companies laying off anyone? Some industries, maybe, because their work is cyclical but in general, why?

25. Beverly RuyleJanuary 10,2022 at 7:22PM UTC

    The Great Resignation is most heavily in Retail and Food Service. Good interview with LinkedIn person on 60 Minutes last night about it.