A Message from Co-Founder and CEO Brian Chesky

Key ideas

Chesky's note to staff announcing Airbnb's layoffs shows how he explained the decision, tied cuts to a narrower strategy, and spelled out support for those leaving.

1. 1

   Explain the decision before the number

   Chesky walks through the reasoning first: travel stopped, revenue was forecast below half of the prior year, and capital raising and cost cuts had already happened. He then gives two reasons deeper cuts were needed: Airbnb doesn't know exactly when travel will return, and it will look different when it does.

2. 2

   Set the strategy, then size the teams

   Chesky describes an order of work: a narrower strategy on a sustainable cost model first, then the size and shape of each team, then a review of individuals against the skills the future business needs. He pauses Transportation and Studios and scales back Hotels and Lux, and says this does not reflect the work of the people on those teams.

3. 3

   Write down principles before cutting

   Chesky lists five principles for the reductions, including doing as much as possible for those affected and telling them one to one. One of them is to hold all communication until the details are settled, because he holds that partial transparency can make things worse.

4. 4

   Be specific about what leavers receive

   Chesky itemizes severance, equity, healthcare and job support rather than promising care in general terms. The job support includes a public alumni directory, part of the recruiting team reassigned to place departing staff, and letting people keep their laptops.

5. 5

   Deliver the news personally, then give room

   Wherever the law allowed, Chesky says, people learned in a personal conversation. Departing US and Canadian staff got a meeting with a senior leader and had until the following Monday to take next steps and say goodbye. He asks leaders not to gather their teams until the end of the week, and he closes by telling those leaving that it is not their fault.

In Brian’s words

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