Leading Through Layoffs

123,000 tech layoffs this year. AI is driving them. And even if your company is thriving, this is still your problem to manage. When the cuts start, your team is scared. You can't promise them safety — most frontline managers don't have that power. But fear doesn't have to run the room. There are specific things you control that decide whether your team survives the moment or quietly falls apart inside it. In this episode, Matt Gjertsen — former head of training and development at SpaceX, military instructor pilot, and founder of Built — walks through leading a team through layoffs, drawing on his time at SpaceX during its 2018 mass cuts and a company that was shedding 8% of staff every month. What you'll walk away with: Why "we'll get through this together" beats false reassurance — and the one promise you can actually make How AI amplifies every misaligned person on your team, and why mission clarity matters more now than ever The real source of internal "AI slop" and how to stop it Why coaching your team to perform is the best protection you can offer when companies go hunting for who to cut For engineers, technical leaders, and anyone responsible for developing leaders trying to hold a team together under pressure. New videos every week on practical leadership in technical environments. Subscribe, and drop a comment if there's something you want covered next. Learn more at BuiltLeaders.com.