I am talking about something that can seriously hurt any organization.
I am talking about something that could lead risk and audit practitioners to get into serious trouble if they are not careful.
I am talking about layoffs.
According to Intelligenze, between January 1st 2026 and March 22, 2026 “1,621 companies have announced mass layoffs”. In May alone, we have:
- May 11, 2026: Fidelity lays off 800, preps hiring spree.
- May 09, 2026: PayPal to cut 4,760 jobs in $1.5B AI overhaul
- May 08, 2026: Porsche is closing three of its subsidiaries, impacting around 500 employees.
- May 07, 2026: BioNTech to Cut as Many as 1,860 Jobs as Vaccine Sales Slip.
- May 06, 2026: reAlpha Reduces Workforce by Approximately 25% and Consolidates Vendor Spend.
Why is this a source of serious risk?
I have some real-life stories to share.
The first is about a financial services company that decided it needed to slash its operating costs. It was careful to ensure it didn’t lay off too many people in protected status1 (such as people over 50, of color, or females). But HR didn’t notice that the newly arrived CIO eliminated the position of the high-performing2 executive responsible for InfoSec who had many years of experience, and split it into two positions for people of the same Armenian…
