How to get your manager to tell you if a layoff is coming

In the weeks leading up to his second layoff in less than a year, Isaac Simon began to notice some eerily familiar changes.

Once again, the content manager was getting less attention from leaders than when he joined the company, a mobile game developer, and long-term assignments were getting shelved.

When he was let go last month, Simon, a 37-year-old Boston native living in Amsterdam, said he wasn’t surprised, though he regrets that he didn’t work up the nerve to approach his manager about the matter.

“I wish I had just asked,” Simon told Business Insider, adding that if he’d gotten a clear answer, he would’ve tried finding new ways to add value or started looking for a new job sooner.

Layoffs have become so rampant in some industries that people who’ve received multiple pink slips say they’ve learned to recognize common signs of impending job cuts. Yet these indicators — such as the loss of a major client or a sudden increase in closed-door meetings — aren’t foolproof.

To get a better sense of what’s really going on, workplace experts say it can make sense to subtly raise the subject to your manager or a trusted leader. Though the move isn’t guaranteed to work, confirmation can provide relief or soften the blow of a future dismissal. It might also give you more time to find a new role before the hammer officially comes down.

What to ask your manager

One way to get a manager to dish is by posing an indirect question, said Nicola Worthy, an HR consultant in Charlotte, N.C. This could be: Is now a good time for me to buy a new home or a new car?

While higher-ups might be barred from spilling the beans outright, “there’s always a way of signaling” that a layoff is coming, she said.

Worthy recalled how a former HR colleague once told her: “‘None of us should be shopping for a boat right now.” That was code for “it might be time to dust off the résumé,” she said. She got the boot about a month later.

Another strategy is to inquire about internal career opportunities, said Amanda Goodall, an independent provider of workforce intelligence for investors and executives. Frame the conversation around wanting to make yourself more of an asset to the company such as by asking what you can do to set yourself up for a promotion or move into a more senior role. Then pay close attention to the person’s body language and choice of words.

“You’re going to get a really strong feel on how receptive they are,” said Goodall, whose business is called The Job Chick. “Their confidence will be up or down.”

You may get mixed results

Matt Dinovo, a 49-year-old information-technology professional in Delaware, Ohio, has experienced three layoffs since 2019.

About a month before the first, he said he was surprised and grateful when his manager informed him during a one-on-one that his job was on the chopping block. The manager explained that the company was planning layoffs and he was on a list of people who’d be getting axed.

“So when it happened, it wasn’t a big deal,” Dinovo said.

His second layoff in 2023 didn’t go as well. Shortly beforehand, he asked his superior outright if he was a target for cuts because he’d been made aware that he’d have to let go of some people on his team. Dinovo was told no, but that turned out to be wrong.

“You can’t always believe what you hear,” he said.

With the third layoff, which occurred in December, Dinovo had already sensed trouble was afoot since his employer’s business model was changing. This time he asked his boss what he could do to stay relevant.

“Leadership didn’t show interest in trying to help me find a new role,” he said, which he took to mean he was likely on his way out. “I had enough of an awareness of the situation when it happened. I wasn’t blindsided.”

Preparing for an uncertain future

Career experts say it’s wise to network regularly and keep an up-to-date résumé in case a layoff strikes, so you don’t have to scramble if it happens.

The advice is especially salient at the moment. U.S.-based employers announced 247,256 job cuts in the second quarter, up 39% from a year ago and the highest total for the April-through-June period since 2020, according to outplacement and coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Companies are making cuts in response to a range of factors, from the Trump administration’s tariffs on foreign imports and higher inflation to the rise of AI tools that can handle some tasks in lieu of people.

Many workers are anticipating more job losses. A recent survey of 1,000 U.S. workers by career site MyPerfectResume found that 42% expect layoffs where they work or in their industry within the next three to six months.

If your manager won’t be forthcoming about layoff information or isn’t privy to plans, experts say your best bet is to keep an eye out for those common clues that cuts are looming.

One such tip-off, especially at small and midsize companies, is an increase in closed-door meetings, according to Worthy, the HR consultant in North Carolina. Others include the postponing of performance reviews and the pausing of training programs. When someone leaves voluntarily, the company may also make no effort to backfill the position, she said.

And if you have the courage to ask for an explanation as to why?

“No one seems to know what’s happening,” Worthy said. “Everything just becomes very gray.”

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