Even the strongest have layoffs

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh just sent a letter to the company about upcoming layoffs. Even though they’re the online market leader in footwear, they’re feeling the pain of a slowing economy, and they’re taking steps now in anticipation of the coming months.

You can read the full letter here. But I wanted to highlight some of the upstanding things Zappos is doing to take care of their laid off employees.

We are offering to pay each laid-off employee through the end of the year (about 2 months), and offering an additional amount for employees that have been with us for 3 or more years.

In addition, because our regular health benefits cover 100% medical, dental, and vision for employees and 50% for spouses and dependents, we decided to offer to reimburse laid-off employees for up to 6 months of COBRA payments.

It’s refreshing to see that the Zappos brand and culture that always cares about its people (whether it’s employees or customers) are doing so even in tough times.