The letter of the layoff due to lack of work is a formal letter, that is written by an employer on the company letterhead, in which he addresses the employee, who is being laid off due to limited work in the organization. In this letter, the employer informs the employee that the company is facing issues of having less work, and that the company is making the decision of laying off the employee.
An organization may lay off its employees due to different reasons, one of the prominent of them is the lack of work. If an organization does not have enough projects, and the employee is being more of an expense than an asset, the company may decide to lay him off. The lack of work may be experienced by the company because of:
- The demand of the company’s products has decreased.
- The management is not struggling enough to grab the work from the market.
- The number of the competitors has increased, offering similar products at lower prices.
- The uncontrollable factors, such as Covid-19, has hit the businesses and market.
- The government has changed its policies toward the company or the industry, or has reduced the subsidies or the support, which has resulted in lesser number of projects or higher prices, etc.
Usually, the companies try to retain their employees, even in hard times, as a lot of company money has been invested in them, e.g., in their training, etc. In addition, to prove themselves as good employers, they have to avoid layoffs to the maximum extent. However, if the situation gets out of their control, and the continuous losses have become the fortune of the company, it has to release a few of its employees.
To notify the employees about this decision, the employer writes a letter of lay-off due to lack of work, the length, and content of which can vary as per the circumstances and the company policies. However, generally, the following details are included in such letters:
- Date.
- The employee details.
- The employer details.
- The announcement of the employee’s lay-off.
- Effective date of the lay-off.
- Reason and justification behind the lay-off.
- Show that the company values its employees, and the decision was taken due to the difficult situation.
- Wish best of luck.
Sample Letter of Layoff due to Lack of Work
Dear Mr. [Navid],
I am writing this letter to announce the bad news of your layoff due to lack of work in the organization. Unfortunately, the month of July 20XX would be your last month with us, and from 1st August 20XX, you will not remain an employee of ABC Limited.
Our company has been facing many issues since the pandemic of COVID-19. We have not been able to grab enough projects even to reach the breakeven point. As we value our employees greatly, we were bearing the losses to avoid the layoffs. However, the effects of the pandemic are still not decreasing, and there is limited work in the company, which is why we are forced to make this difficult decision. We did not want to let go of our family members, but we had no other option.
We regret that we have to lay off one of our greatest employees, but due to lack of projects, we had to take this decision of letting you go.
We wish you the best of luck in your future. Let us know if you need any recommendations for your future job.
Thank you.
Regards,
Emily Watson.
Format: Word [15KB]
Sample 2
Rana Alfred
Manager of IT Department
Dated: 28th February 20XX
Subject: Laying off due to lack of work
Dear Eric,
I am writing this letter regrettably to inform you that you have been laid off for an unlimited duration. As you are aware of the pandemic and lockdown situation, it has cost us 70% of the work and it is very difficult for me to entertain all the employees.
The influx of work has been minimized excessively and most of the employees do not have any work to do for weeks, therefore, I am laying off a maximum number of employees and managing a small team that would be capable of handling incoming projects. You have always been an asset to this company, but your skills are getting rough here because they are not being used.
I urge you to seek another job opportunity that is parallel to your caliber as we are unaware of the next projects. In another company, your skills will be more polished due to the variety of work. If it had been in our power, I would never have laid you off.
I understand that these are hard times but always remember that nobody can defeat you unless you accept it yourself.
Regards,
Rana Alfred
Director of ABC Company
Format: Word [14KB]
