IN THE PRESS

Bosses are using 'silent layoffs' and 'quiet firing' to get rid of employees — Business Insider

Published:
May 26, 2026
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Dan Buckley spoke to Business Insider. "Quiet quitting" came and went. Then there was "grumpy staying." But the latest workplace trends — "silent layoffs" and "quiet firing" — could be the most harmful to date.

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  • Silent layoffs — when a company provides staff with severance packages but asks them to keep quiet about the details of their exit
  • Quiet firing — a subtle move by bosses to make a role less appealing, motivating workers to quit rather than forcing them out through layoffs

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Dan Buckley discussed why these tactics could backfire on companies, harming morale and potentially creating worse outcomes than transparent, direct approaches. The Business Insider article argues these approaches — while they may seem to avoid public fallout — can ultimately damage trust and company culture more severely than overt redundancies.

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