How Leaders Can Rebuild Trust After Layoffs
Layoffs leave more than empty seats.
They leave a culture changed, often in ways leaders can’t immediately see.
Even if layoffs are necessary or handled thoughtfully, they generate a residue of uncertainty, fear, and distrust among those who remain. And in today’s business climate, where trust in leadership is already fragile, rebuilding trust can’t be an afterthought.
Trust won’t rebuild itself. It has to be led.
But here’s the challenge: many leaders are still using outdated playbooks for trust building - generic town halls, polished comms, or one-off listening sessions that simply don’t match today’s realities.
In this new environment, trust must be rebuilt differently: more personally, more deeply, more through action than words.
Recognize That Trust Is Not Uniform
One of the first mistakes leaders make is assuming that trust has been equally damaged across the organization. It hasn’t.
Trust fractures differently for different people - based on role, history with the company, proximity to the layoff decisions, identity factors, and personal experience.
Rebuilding trust requires meeting people where they are, not treating everyone as if they’re starting from the same place.
That starts with listening. And not performative listening - real, small-group, sometimes 1:1 conversations where people can safely say what they’re feeling.
Abandoning “Spin” and Embracing Real Transparency
Employees today are hyper-attuned to tone and intent. They can smell spin a mile away.
Real transparency matters more than ever:
Acknowledge what happened and why, even when uncomfortable
Be candid about what is still uncertain
Show, through action, that leadership understands the human impact — not just the business rationale
Saying “We’re moving forward” without addressing the trust gap only deepens it.
Shift From “Telling” to “Proving”
Trust is not rebuilt through statements but through observable, repeated behavior.
After layoffs, employees are watching for proof:
Will leadership communicate consistently?
Will they deliver on promises?
Will they invest in the remaining team’s development and wellbeing?
Small actions, when done consistently, rebuild trust faster than grand gestures or new programs.
Rebuild Trust Inside Teams, Not Just From the Top
A critical blind spot in many organizations is focusing too much on top-down trust rebuilding — CEO videos, corporate comms, leadership tours.
However, the most powerful trust dynamics happen inside teams. Do people trust their manager? Do they trust their peers? Do they feel safe speaking up?
Investing in team-level trust through team resets, facilitated conversations, and coaching accelerates cultural healing far faster than corporate messaging alone.
Trust after layoffs won’t rebuild itself, and definitely won’t rebuild through old methods. In this new environment, trust should not be treated as a soft side conversation anymore.
Cultivate empowers organizations to not just adapt to change, but to lead in shaping the future of work. Let us help you build a thriving culture now — send us a message.
