344. More tech Layoffs, OpenAI Culture Crisis and Small Business Burnout PLUS Should You Chase A-Players?

Welcome back to Truth, Lies & Work, the award-winning workplace podcast where behavioural science meets workplace culture! Brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.

This week, Al and Leanne are joined by friend of the show Dr. Jake Tuber to evaluate a major tech company's layoff announcement, unpack high-stakes safety concerns in A.I., and examine the true economic cost of toxic workers.

🔥 Stories covered

A tech company announces 660 layoffs: What does the CEO’s memo tell us?

The company has announced it is cutting approximately 660 jobs (about 7% of its workforce). The CEO released a detailed memo explaining that the move is driven by a strategic pivot toward customer outcomes and AI, flattening management layers, and creating agile teams—rather than direct AI productivity replacements or simple cost-cutting. The team breaks down the public memo and gives their verdict on how these layoffs are being managed. But WHO IS IT???? Leanne reveals all

OpenAI safety insider quits over broken culture

David Robinson, a safety report lead at OpenAI for three and a half years, has resigned and gone public in The Atlantic, claiming the company's "iterative deployment" culture is broken. He warns that a move-fast-and-break-things mindset is dangerous when applied to powerful AI systems, comparing the required safety mindset to nuclear power plants and commercial aviation.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/03/openai-safety-employee-resigns-claiming-the-companys-culture-is-broken/

🧠 Truth or Lie: Should you chase A-players or eliminate toxic workers first?

Conventional wisdom tells leaders to spend their time and resources hunting for top-tier "A-players". However, a landmark 10-year study analyzing over 58,000 workers reveals that avoiding or removing a toxic employee saves an organization roughly $12,500—more than double the economic value generated by upgrading an average worker to a top 1% star performer ($5,300).

Read the full study here: https://dash.harvard.edu/entities/publication/73120379-08e0-6bd4-e053-0100007fdf3b

💬 Workplace Surgery