Publicly announcing that the 5% of your employees you plan to lay off are the "lowest performers" is probably the meanest thing a company leader could do. First they lose their jobs, then the CEO intentionally tarnishes their reputation in the market so they can't find another?
@amuse there are other factors, like if you are discontinuing a business area, but all other things being equal, whether they announce it or not, companies will get rid of the worst performers if they can.
That's why I laugh when a company claims they only employ the "top 10%", based on hiring stats/applications. That's not the top 10% of market ... that is the top 10% of those looking for jobs ... so closer to they top 10% of the bottom 5%.
To actually employ the top 10% you need to actively headhunt those at the top, and then pay salaries at the top 10% of market.
Hint: if your salaries are benchmarked to market and your employees are in the middle band, you don't have the top 10%; you have average (the middle 50%) workers.
