HAEO: How Do I Rebuild Trust With Employees After Layoffs?

Jillian O’Malior

2 days ago

4 min read

By Jillian O'Malior, Founder & Principal Strategist, New World Labs

PUBLISHED: October 20, 2026

You rebuild trust with employees after layoffs by telling the people who stayed the real reason it happened and what comes next, having leadership own the decision in public, and then keeping every promise you make afterward where people can see it. Trust after a layoff is built through behavior over months, and the announcement is the least important part of it. Starting by accepting that some of it is already gone: in a 2025 INTOO and Workplace Intelligence survey, 62% of employees said they lost trust in their employer following layoffs.

That's the answer. Here's what it actually asks of leadership.

The Business Made A Decision. The Employee Paid For It.

I wrote that line about the people who get laid off, and it's just as true for the people who stay. They watched how their colleagues were treated, they inherited the work, and they're now asking whether they're next.

Companies consistently underestimate this. In the same INTOO survey, 80% of employees said companies underestimate the impact layoffs have on their remaining workforce, and 71% said they would start job hunting right away even if they kept their jobs. The people you kept are already doing the math on whether to stay. What you do next is the input.

Layoffs: Say the Real Reason

The fastest way to lose the trust you have left is a euphemism. If the company was profitable and cut headcount to hit a margin target, "restructuring to position us for the future" isn't going to land with people who can read an earnings report. Laying off people at a profitable company is a choice. Say you made it, say why, and let people disagree with you.

Then answer the question everyone's actually asking: is there another round coming? If you don't know, say that, and say when you will. Whatever you do, don't promise "no more layoffs" unless you're certain. A broken promise six months later does more damage than the original cut (and everyone will remember exactly who said it).

But Jillian, We Did Everything Right

You might have. Your employees might still disagree. INTOO found that 77% of HR leaders said their company aims to be very fair in layoffs, while 33% of employees said their employer did as little as possible to ensure fairness.

That's the same gap I look for in every EVP: the distance between what the company believes about itself and what its people experienced. So ask. Run skip-levels, listen without defending, and brief your managers before every update, because they're the ones fielding the questions in one-on-ones you'll never hear.

Change Something People Can See

Words get people to wait and see. Action is what earns the trust back. What did leadership give up? What will change about how the next decision like this gets made? Who gets consulted, how much notice people get, what severance and support look like next time. Those are the commitments that belong in an EVP, which is why Transparent Commitments, the non-negotiables of the social contract, sit inside our ATTRACT model.

And update the brand. If your careers page still says "we're a family" or promises job security, retire it now. Your employees will read it, candidates will read it next to the layoff coverage, and both will draw the obvious conclusion.

Let's Bring It Home

You can't announce your way back to trust. You rebuild it one kept promise at a time, in front of the people who just watched you break one.

Six months from now, what will the people who stayed say you did differently?

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to rebuild trust after layoffs?

Longer than leadership usually expects. Trust comes back through a track record of kept promises, so it's measured in months of consistent behavior, and one broken promise resets the clock.

What should leaders tell remaining employees after layoffs?

The real reason for the decision, what it means for the people who stayed, whether more cuts are possible, and what will change. If you don't know an answer yet, say when you will.

What role do managers play in rebuilding trust after layoffs?

A central one. Employees ask their managers the questions they won't ask leadership, so managers need to be briefed before every update and given honest answers to pass on.

Should you update your employer brand after layoffs?

Yes. Retire any claim the layoff contradicted, such as job security or "we're a family," and check what reviews and AI tools now say about you, because candidates will see it.

Sources

INTOO, "Report: 80% of Employees Say Companies Underestimate Layoff Fallout," with Workplace Intelligence, September 2025.
New World Labs, "The Cliff's Edge: Individual Impact of Business-Level Decision Making," Reports from the Field.
New World Labs, "The ATTRACT EVP Playbook," The Archive.
New World Labs, "How Do I Refresh an Outdated Employer Value Proposition?"

Jillian O’Malior is Founder & Principal Strategist at New World Labs, building people-first brands and cultures in the Age of Intelligence. Fifteen years in employer brand across in-house, agency and consulting. Work with New World Labs · Follow on LinkedIn • Follow on TikTok