[bgroat]

A founder friend confided in me years ago, "It is MUCH easier to raise more money than it is to fire someone... I just keep raising and hiring and eventually everything will get done"

No surprise that this approach was very much a "Low-Rates Phenomenon"

[user_named]

Why is it hard to fire? I thought it's super easy in the US.

[danjac]

Legally perhaps, but firing people particularly en mass is hard to do right, unless you don't care and you are just prepping for a fire sale.

You can lose people who might be key contributors. You can destroy morale in the rest of the company. Everyone else knows they might be next, so they will leave first chance they get. Finally, it signals to the market you are in trouble (hence why a lot of companies are doing it now: better to be just one more company doing layoffs when everyone else is doing it).

[bgroat]

This was the point that founder friend was making.

It's hard to look someone in the eye and say they're done

[user_named]

He mentioned several points, all different from what you said

[paulddraper]

Legally yes.

Morale-wise no.