Quiet Cutting: How HR Can Handle It with Transparency

Today’s corporate landscape is the stage for rising tensions caused by job redesigns, budget cuts, AI advancements, and role reassignments. Those scenarios leave HR with the task of balancing business demands with employee trust, delivering the message while maintaining morale. 

One of those situations is quiet cutting—an alternative to layoffs that can cause uncertainty across workforces. This article explores what quiet cutting is, how it impacts employees and organizations, and how HR can act with integrity during these high-stakes transitions.

Quiet cutting is a corporate strategy in which employees are reassigned to new roles, often less prestigious or desirable, instead of being laid off. Employers resort to quiet cutting in the hope that employees will leave the organization voluntarily, reducing headcount costs without triggering severance pay, legal risks, or negative repercussions.

In those scenarios, it’s common to see workers being told that their current job has been eliminated, with little explanation or support. They’re then offered new roles with reduced pay, fewer benefits, or mismatched responsibilities. For many, it’s a demotion in disguise.

In essence, quiet cutting means more than just cost-cutting. Employers aim to control the narrative with quiet cutting, meaning they wish to avoid reputational damage from layoffs and shift the power back to leadership during a weaker job market.

Bestselling author Joanne Lipman sees quiet cutting as an opposite trend to “quiet quitting” and “the great resignation” seen in the post-pandemic years. Those movements reflected a heated labor market, where employees expressed discontent with their employers by either leaving for more meaningful jobs or doing the bare minimum while waiting for the next opportunity. “Quiet cutting suggests that the balance is shifting, with employers gaining more control,” Lipman says.

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Technically, quiet cutting is legal, but that doesn’t mean it’s risk-free. If a reassignment significantly worsens an employee’s working conditions or feels like a demotion without cause, it could open the door for constructive dismissal claims. In legal terms, constructive dismissal occurs when an employee’s work environment becomes so hostile or unreasonable that they’re effectively forced to resign.

Although it’s difficult to prove in court, quiet cutting can create the kind of psychological and professional strain that meets this threshold. This is especially true if there’s a pattern of targeting certain individuals or offering roles to clearly encourage departure.

Quiet cutting also raises ethical questions. According to a Zetwerk survey, 54 percent of business leaders view the practice as unethical, and 70 percent advocate for transparency in workforce decisions​. More tellingly, 56 percent of employees would rather be laid off than quietly cut. Nearly half of workers who have experienced quiet cutting say that they felt betrayed, and many eventually leave on their own, often leaving behind a scathing Glassdoor review​.

Quiet cutting puts HR professionals in a difficult position. On one hand, they must help leadership implement such cost-saving strategies and navigate economic pressures. On the other hand, they’re the face of the company’s people strategy, expected to protect employees and cultivate trust.

When companies resort to quiet cutting, HR usually plays the role of delivering the message or facilitating the transitions. However, without proper guidance or support, this role can quickly become one of damage control.

Here’s how HR can approach quiet cutting with transparency and integrity:

Misrepresenting or minimizing those reassignments will only breed resentment. Be clear about why a change is happening, what the business goals are, and how it impacts the individual. 

For example, if cost savings, AI adoption, or role redundancy are the drivers, say so—kindly but honestly.

Don’t make it a “take it or leave it” situation. Offer transition support, clear expectations for the new role, and the ability to decline without retaliation. If reassignment is the only option, communicate what success in the new role looks like and how it fits into the company’s future.

These tools are vital in maintaining employee dignity. Whether someone accepts a new role or leaves the company, support them in navigating the change. Outplacement services can help employees find better-suited opportunities elsewhere, while career coaching provides a path to growth for those staying.

These resources also benefit the employer. They reduce resentment, limit brand damage, and improve the employee experience during challenging transitions.

Quiet cutting may seem like a softer alternative to layoffs, but the fallout can be just as damaging, if not more. With quiet cutting, employees can quickly recognize when they’re being quietly pushed out, resulting in disengagement, poor performance, or public backlash.

Many quietly cut employees also “quiet quit” in response—they stay in the job, but only do the bare minimum, biding their time until they find something else​. This means that companies lose not only their trust, but also productivity.

Meanwhile, the emotional toll on quietly cut employees is real. Being reassigned to an ill-fitting or devalued role affects more than just status; it also impacts motivation, workplace identity, and mental health.

According to Mental Health America’s 2023 Mind the Workplace survey, 8 out of 10 US workers report that workplace stress affects their mental health. So, it’s clear that organizations must weigh the short-term gains of cost-saving measures like quiet cutting against the long-term costs of broken trust and a struggling workforce.

The world of work is shifting rapidly, and HR must evolve with it—from tactical enforcer to strategic trust builder. One of HR’s strengths is humanizing workplace relations through clear communication, thoughtful support, and a commitment to integrity. This way, HR can guide leaders and employees through change without sacrificing trust or mental health, a key concern among today’s workers worldwide.

Careerminds helps make this possible. Our coaches can complement your HR strategy by providing career guidance and emotional support, restoring confidence and keeping individuals moving forward. 

Want to see how our approach can support your team? Click below to connect with our experts and learn how Careerminds makes career change more supportive, stress-free, and successful.