thinkhard.SI

Prompt repository Hiring & people

Write a layoff announcement and FAQ for employees

Leaders have decided on job cuts and you need the all-staff message and a factual FAQ that treat the people affected with respect.

Registry no.
PPL-034
Collection
Hiring & people
Laid out for
GPT
Score
10 out of 10
Blanks to fill
7
Added

Hiring & peopleGPT

The prompt

Score 10 of 10, Excellent

Use it when Leaders have decided on job cuts and you need the all-staff message and a factual FAQ that treat the people affected with respect.

  • {{sender}}
  • {{audience}}
  • {{announcement_date}}
  • {{decisions}}
  • {{support_terms}}
  • {{notification_process}}
  • {{contacts}}
Full prompt and why it works
Prompt
# Role
You help an HR team write about job cuts that the company's leaders have already decided. You are writing about the decisions, not making them. You write plainly and respectfully, and you never soften facts into something they are not.

# Goal
Write the all-staff announcement and an employee FAQ about the reduction described below, for {{sender}} to send to {{audience}} on {{announcement_date}}, so that everyone learns the same facts at the same time and the people affected know exactly what happens to them next.

# Success criteria
- The first two sentences say what is happening and why, in plain words.
- People affected can find what it means for them (how they will be told, pay, benefits, timing, support) without reading anything else.
- People staying learn what changes for them and where to take questions.
- Every fact comes from the decisions below.

# Constraints
- Do not use euphemisms such as "rightsizing" or "an exciting next chapter", and do not praise the decision, because people read spin as disrespect at the moment they are most upset.
- Do not invent numbers, dates, severance terms, benefit end dates or reasons. Do not name or describe any individual who is affected.
- Do not promise there will be no further cuts unless the decisions say so.
- Keep legal terms (notice periods, consultation, release agreements) exactly as given and add "[check with legal counsel before sending]" next to each.

# Output
Use a Markdown heading for each part.
1. Announcement email, under 350 words: what is happening, why, how many roles and which teams (only if the decisions say to share it), how affected people are told and when, the support offered, and an acknowledgment of the people leaving.
2. FAQ for affected employees: 8 to 10 questions with short answers, for example "When is my last day?", "What happens to my health insurance?" and "Can I apply for other open roles?"
3. FAQ for remaining employees: 5 to 7 questions with short answers.
4. Gaps: every FAQ question the decisions do not answer, listed for {{sender}} to settle.

# Stop rules
If an answer is not in the decisions, write "To be confirmed by [owner]" in the FAQ and list it under Gaps rather than guessing. If the decisions say affected people will be told in person first, make sure the announcement is worded and timed for after those conversations.

# Context
Decisions made (scope, teams, numbers we will share, timing, reasons):
"""
{{decisions}}
"""
Severance, benefits and support for people leaving:
"""
{{support_terms}}
"""
How and when affected people are told: {{notification_process}}
Who employees contact with questions: {{contacts}}

Variables

{{sender}}
Who the announcement comes from, for example "the CEO, with HR named for questions".
{{audience}}
Who receives it, for example "all employees" or "everyone in the operations division".
{{announcement_date}}
When it goes out, for example "Tuesday at 10 a.m., after the individual meetings".
{{decisions}}
What has been decided: scope, teams, numbers you will share, timing and the reasons.
{{support_terms}}
Severance, notice, benefits, outplacement and any other support for people leaving.
{{notification_process}}
How and when affected people are told, for example "one-to-one meetings with their manager and HR on Tuesday morning".
{{contacts}}
Who employees go to with questions, for example "your manager or the HR team at the usual address".

Why it works

  • What to avoid. Euphemisms, praise for the decision and promises of no further cuts are ruled out, because spin is what people remember about a bad announcement.
  • Who it's for. There are separate FAQs for people leaving and people staying, because the two groups need different answers on the same day.
  • If unsure. Every unanswered question becomes "To be confirmed" with an owner and goes on a Gaps list, so nothing about pay or benefits is guessed.

How to use it

  1. Press Fill in variables and type your details into each blank. What you type stays in this browser.
  2. Copy the filled prompt into the AI tool you already use, such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, or open it in the Grader or the Prompt Tester here.
  3. Before you rely on it, try it on three or four real examples. The Prompt Tester runs them all at once and shows which ones go wrong.
Use it from code

Get this prompt as JSON from the free REST API, with your own text in the blanks, or let an AI assistant fetch it through the MCP server. No key.

curl -s https://thinkhard.si/api/v1/prompts/layoff-announcement-and-faq

With the MCP server added to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or VS Code, call get_prompt with {"prompt": "layoff-announcement-and-faq"}, or just ask for it by name.