RadioShack Lays Off 400 Employees Via E-Mail

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August 31, 2006 (5:10 PM EDT)

By Antone Gonsalves , TechWeb Technology News

In an unusual human-resources move, RadioShack Corp. this week sent layoff notices by email to several hundred employees The RadioShack layoffs occurred at the company's Fort Worth, Texas, headquarters on Tuesday, when 400 workers received emails saying: "The work force reduction notification is currently in progress. Unfortunately your position is one that has been eliminated," according to the Associated Press.

The layoffs followed a series of meetings with employees, who were told the layoff notices would be sent electronically, the AP said, quoting company spokesman Kay Jackson. The firings at the headquarters were necessary because of a sales slump that has led to hundreds of store closures and other measures to reduce expenses.

[RadioShack had not responded to a request for comment at posting time.]

One personnel expert suggest that such electronic notices are best avoided. "Terminating someone carries a lot of emotion on both sides of the fence, and should be done in the most humane way possible," said, Polly Wright, a senior consultant for HR Consultants Inc., Johnstown, Penn., said. "We all have bumps in life, and we should get help in working through those bumps with the least amount of anxiety and trauma."

Times when email can't be avoided is when a company's offices are so spread out that face-to-face handing of notifications is impossible, or when the layoffs have to happen so quickly that there's no time to arrange meetings, Wright said.

Before any notices are handed out, company managers should meet with employees in small groups and be as honest as possible as to why the job cuts are necessary, Wright said. The amount of information given, particularly financial information, will vary from company to company. "How open they are will depend on the culture," Wright said.