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A number of big-name tech companies have announced or are said to be planning layoffs this month, in continuation of a trend we saw in February. March 2025s most prominent tech layoffs include those from Jack Dorsey’s fintech company Block, online meal kit company HelloFresh, server maker Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), social media giant TikTok, and retailer Wayfairs technology division. Heres what you need to know. Jack Dorsey’s Block lays off over 900 workers Twitter founder Jack Dorseys latest company, Block, has announced that it will cut 931 jobs. Block owns the popular fintech app and platforms Cash App and Square. The 931 laid-off workers represent about 8% of Blocks workforce. Block made the announcement internally in an email Dorsey sent to Block staff. That email was later leaked to TechCrunch. In the email, Dorsey was very specific about why Block was cutting the chosen workers, citing three reasons: eliminating employees that are part of teams that are off strategy” eliminating those who have a below or trending toward a below performance rating” and in order to flatten Blocks organizational hierarchy. Dorsey revealed the exact numbers being cut for each of the three reasons. Strategy cuts totaled 391 people, performance cuts totaled 460 people, and hierarchy cuts totaled 80 managers. Dorsey also announced Block was closing many of its 748 open roles at the company. Were behind in our actions, and thats not fair to the individuals who work here or the company. When we know, we should move, and there hasnt been enough movement, Dorsey said in the email. We need to move to help us meet and stay ahead of the transformational moment our industry is in. Block declined Fast Company’s request for comment. HelloFresh axes 273 jobs in Texas Online meal kit company HelloFresh has revealed that it is set to eliminate nearly 300 positions at a facility in Texas, reported GroceryDive. The layoff plans were made public because the company was required to file a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) in the state. WARN notices are required in some states when a company plans mass layoffs. They are intended to give workers and the local community advanced notice. According to HelloFreshs WARN notice, 273 workers at its Grand Prairie, Texas, distribution center will lose their jobs on May 13. In an email to GroceryDive, HelloFresh confirmed the layoffs, which are being made because the company is consolidating its operations in the state to its Irving, Texas, location. As the meal kit market normalizes, we are now focused on diversifying our product offerings and driving profitable growth by optimizing our operational footprint, a company spokesperson said in the email. As a result, we have made the difficult decision to consolidate our operations in Texas. Hewlett Packard Enterprise cuts 2,500 jobs In what is the largest known tech mass layoff in March, server maker Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) announced during its recent earnings report that it would cut 2,500 jobs. As noted by CNBC, Hewlett Packard Enterprise said it is seeking to achieve $350 million in gross savings by fiscal 2027. Part of those savings will come from the 2,500 job cuts, which are expected over the next 18 months. That equates to about 5% of Hewlett Packard Enterprises workforce. Despite its name, its important to note that Hewlett Packard Enterprise is a separate, distinct company from consumer computer maker Hewlett Packard (HP). HPE separated from HP nearly a decade ago. However, its worth pointing out that HPEs March job cuts follow HPs job cuts last month. In February, consumer computer maker Hewlett-Packard announced it would be cutting 2,000 workers. TikTok could cut 300 jobs in Ireland Social media giant TikTok is another tech company that might see job cuts. However, these cuts are limited to its operations in Ireland. As reported by Irelands public broadcaster, Raidi� Teilif�s �ireann (RT�), the countrys minister for enterprise, tourism and employment said it was his understanding that TikTok will cut around 300 jobs at its Dublin headquarters. The job cuts will reportedly happen in April. TikTok is said to employ almost 3,000 individuals at its Dublin headquarters, meaning the job cuts will impact about 10% of its workforce there. We’ve reached out to TikTok for comment. Wayfair Inc. to cut around 340 technology team members Home goods e-commerce giant Wayfair revealed in a Form 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 7 that it is initiating a workforce reduction. According to the filing, Wayfair will let go approximately 340 members of the companys Technology team. These changes reflect efforts to reshape, streamline and refocus the Companys Technology organization after completing significant modernization and replatforming milestones, Wayfair wrote in its 8-K. Wayfair says that it employs more than 12,000 people across North America and Europe. Tech layoffs reach nearly 25,000 in 2025 so far With the layoffs above, as well as others through the month of March, total layoffs for the tech industry since the year began currently stand at 24,313, according to data compiled by tech layoffs tracking site Layoffs.fyi. The site says that so far in 2025, 90 companies have announced tech-related layoffs. To put the nearly 25,000 figure into more perspective, in all of 2024, Layoffs.fyi says there were just over 152,000 tech layoffs. And in all of 2023, there were over 264,000.
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E-Commerce
Being a perfectionist is like playing a rigged carnival game. Its presented as easy and within reach when its actually impossible and unattainable. People who are expected by others, or expect themselves, to be perfect are trapped in a nonsensical world where normal and difficult are confused with perfect and easy. Unable to achieve perfection, they’re bombarded with messages that they’re not thinking, feeling, or performing normally: Everyone else manages to keep their house in order while working full-time and raising kids. No one else has to work this hard just to get by. None of the other moms have a hard time getting up with their kids in the morning. Of course, we’re all shackled by perfectionism to some extent. Those last three statements were pulled from my own perfectionistic self-talk. In a world of carefully crafted profiles and photoshopped everything, developing an accurate sense of “normal” is an uphill battle. The constant distortion makes equalizing critical. Equalizing shows someone that their reaction makes complete sense given their circumstances and how humans naturally respond. It’s essentially saying, If I was in your shoes, I would do or feel the same. It not only validates people’s reactions but also recalibrates their expectations. My client, a physician I’ll call Lou, once came to session with a familiar problem: He couldn’t keep up with emails at his new job and he was struggling to complete his patients’ notes on time, partly because of the email overload. No problem, I thought. We discussed ways to streamline his documentation process and came up with a plan for him to speak with the director if all else failed. Well, all else failed, including his conversation with the director, who my judgmental mind desperately wanted to be cast as Cruella de Vil.� No, she told him, Lou could not get staff assistance in responding to patient emails; yes, all patient emails needed to be addressed by end of day; no, he could not get weekly admin time to attend to these tasks as is customary in most hospitals and could make up missed work on his own time. The director didn’t validate any of Lou’s concerns and instead seemed to suggest that he should get with the program. Still, the demands seemed unreasonable. How were any of the other doctors staying afloat? Lou didn’t know. The director wasn’t beloved by any means, but no one else was complaining about the expectations or workflow. “Maybe it’s the OCD,” he said after months of not being able to make it home in time to put his kids to bed. Lou had a history of obsessive-compulsive disorder, which manifested in excessive checking. When we started working together, he would check to see if the oven was off, then recheck to ensure it was off, then recheck just to be positive, then . . . you get the point. At work, he used to compulsively go over orders and prescriptions he’d submitted, driven by the anxiety that he’d made a mistake. But that was all in the past. Lou responded positively to treatment and had been symptom-free for years.� “Are you checking again?” I asked. He didn’t think so but was starting to doubt himself. I reminded him of the unrelenting anxiety and obsessive thoughts that drove his compulsions. He admitted that the mafia goons were noticeably absent. But if it wasn’t the OCD, what was it? Lou’s situation was growing increasingly Kafkaesque. He began looking for other jobs. Then one day his director was gone. Fired or quit, Lou wasn’t sure which. There was a new director, and the first thing she did was to ask the doctors for anonymous feedback about their needs and pain points. Then she scheduled a meeting with them, which focused primarily on acknowledging the concerns everyone had raised about managing emails. It turns out Lou wasn’t an outlier after all. He was part of a silent majority. His burnout and hopelessness weren’t abnormal reactions to reasonable demands; they were normal responses to unrealistic expectations. Even though the new director didn’t have any immediate solutions to the email problem, Lou abandoned his job search. He no longer felt overwhelmed with hopelessness and self-doubt; his oxygen mask was firmly in place. Perfectionism thrives in isolation, where we can’t see that others struggle too with the same impossible standards. Equalizing brings these hidden struggles into the light, normalizing our very understandable responses to unrealistic demands. Adapted with permission from Validation by Caroline Fleck, published by Avery, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright 2025 by Caroline Fleck.
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Building trust and forming meaningful relationships within teams can be a daunting task for leaders, especially when time is limited. Through our research, we identified a streamlined approach that Generatorsthe type of leader that people want to work for, known for creating strong, collaborative environmentsuse to foster relationships quickly. We call it the SWIFT process, an acronym that guides leaders in cultivating meaningful connections. The SWIFT process entails: Setting aside time for relationship-building sprints Welcoming others warmly Intentionally inquiring about others lives Following up with thoughtful questions Taking time to self-reflect for improvement By incorporating these steps, leaders can build stronger connections with their teams, reduce misunderstandings, and create an environment where collaboration thrives. Why the SWIFT process matters Building trust isnt just a leadership buzzwordits foundational to productivity and job satisfaction. Reflect on your first week at a new job. The uncertainty about whether your boss would judge your questions or understand your values likely made you cautious about opening up. Now, imagine if your leader had proactively spent time with you, shared about themselves, and sought to understand your perspective. That effort would have made you feel more confident and secure, enabling you to ramp up more quickly in your role. This proactive approach to relationship-building isnt merely about nicetiesit has a tangible impact on performance. Employees who feel a sense of psychological safety are not only more comfortable asking questions but also more inclined to share their ideas and collaborate effectively. Reducing misconceptions One of the most immediate benefits of the SWIFT process is its ability to mitigate misconceptions. People naturally make quick judgments based on limited information, often influenced by stereotypes. While these cognitive shortcuts can be helpful for categorizing objects (like recognizing a chair, even if it looks unfamiliar), they are far less effectiveand often harmfulwhen applied to people. Consider this: A team member might unconsciously associate you with a previous boss who resembled you physically or had a similar demeanor. These snap judgments, fueled by a lack of individuating information, can distort perceptions of trustworthiness and intent. The SWIFT process addresses this by promoting deeper interactions early on. Sharing your intentions, values, and actions allows team members to see you as an individual rather than a stereotype. Similarly, by getting to know your team, you can suspend your own biases, fostering an atmosphere of mutual respect and understanding. Reducing miscommunication The SWIFT process also tackles a common leadership challenge: miscommunication. This issue is particularly pronounced in global and remote teams, where nonverbal cues are often absent. For example, have you ever received an email that came across as curt or confusing, only to later realize the senders tone or intent was different than what you assumed? By taking the time to understand your colleagues communication styles, you can better interpret their messages and help align their tone with their intentions. This preemptive investment in relationship-building pays dividends by reducing misunderstandings and enabling smoother collaboration. Strengthening norms and minimizing conflict Stronger relationships also help prevent conflicts caused by perceived norm violations. When team members know and trust each other, they are more likely to give one another the benefit of the doubt. For instance, if someone misses a deadline, a colleague who understands their usual reliability is more likely to assume an extenuating circumstance rather than laziness or carelessness. Teams that invest in relationship-building create a culture of open communication and mutual support. This leads to constructive conversations about misunderstandings rather than divisive conflicts. The science of quick connections The good news is that building trust doesnt have to be a slow, arduous process. Research by Oliver Schilke and Laura Huang demonstrates that even brief, intentional conversations can significantly improve judgments of trustworthiness. Their experiments showed that participants who engaged in a short verbal exchangewhether over the phone or in personwere better able to assess their partners intentions and behavior during trust-based tasks. The key lies in the exchange of perspectives: even minimal interaction helps individuals see situations through anothers eyes. This insight underscores the value of incorporating the SWIFT process into leadership practices. By dedicating even small amounts of time to meaningful conversations, leaders can foster trust, understanding, and collaboration more quickly than they might expect. Actionable steps to implement SWIFT The SWIFT process isnt just a theoretical frameworkits a practical tool that leaders can apply immediately. Heres how to bring it to life: Set relationship-building goals: Block time in your calendar for regular check-ins with team members, especially those new to the team. Create a warm welcome: Begin each interaction with a genuine smile, a kind word, or a gesture that shows you value the persons presence. Ask intentional questions: Go beyond surface-level inquiries. For instance, instead of asking, Hows work? try, Whats been most exciting or challenging for you recently? Follow up thoughtfully: Demonstrate that you listened by referencing previous conversations. For example, if a colleague mentioned a hobby or family event, ask how it went. Reflect and improve: After each interaction, consider what went well and what could be enhanced. Did you make the other person feel heard and valued? Are there ways you can deepen the connection next time? Why SWIFT leadership works Building relationships swiftly isnt just a nice-to-have skillits a critical component of effective leadership. By investing time in understanding your team and sharing about yourself, you foster an environment where trust can thrive. The benefits are clear: Employees who trust their leaders are more engaged, productive, and willing to collaborate. Teams with strong relationships experience fewer misunderstandings and conflicts. And leaders who embrace the SWIFT process position themselves as approachable, empathetic, and capable of driving their teams toward success. Whether youre managing a team of two or 200, the SWIFT process is your roadmap to building trust, minimizing conflict, and cultivating a culture of connection. As you apply these steps, youll not only strengthen your teams dynamics but also unlock their full potential. Adapted with permission from the publisher, Wiley, from Leading for Wellness by Patricia Grabarek and Katina Sawyer. Copyright 2025 by Patricia Grabarek and Katina Sawyer. All rights reserved. This book is available wherever books and eBooks are sold.
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