Definition

A dramatic budget cut or reduction in workforce, usually announced with corporate euphemisms like 'rightsizing' or 'strategic restructuring.' Used in sentences like 'We're slashing headcount by 30%' to make mass layoffs sound less horrifying than they actually are.

Example Usage

The CEO announced they were slashing costs to improve profitability, which is a nice way of saying 'everyone's about to update their LinkedIn."

Source: Common industry terminology

Related Terms

Beginner

S.S.D.D

An acronym for 'Same Shit, Different Day,' perfectly capturing the monotonous Groundhog Day feeling of routine life. It's the corporate world's unofficial motto, whispered in break rooms and typed in Slack messages across the globe.

💼 Corporate / Business
Intermediate

visioning

Corporate-speak for 'daydreaming with a PowerPoint deck,' where executives gather to imagine future success without worrying about pesky details like budgets or reality. It's the art of creating aspirational statements that sound profound in all-hands meetings but mean absolutely nothing by Tuesday. When someone schedules a 'visioning session,' bring your buzzword bingo card.

💼 Corporate / Business
Advanced

cathedral

A large, complex software or business project built through centralized, hierarchical planning over long periods. Contrasts with 'bazaar' development, which is more chaotic but often more effective.

💼 Corporate / Business
Beginner

survey

A formal examination or comprehensive review of something, from land boundaries to customer opinions to workplace satisfaction (where everyone lies). It's the act of systematically gathering data, measurements, or feedback, usually resulting in a report nobody reads. The tool organizations use to pretend they care about your opinion.

💼 Corporate / Business
Beginner

incentivise

The corporate art of dangling carrots to make people do things they wouldn't ordinarily do, typically through bonuses, perks, or the promise of not being fired. It's management's favorite verb when they need results but don't want to address systemic issues. Because nothing says 'we value you' like a gift card to incentivise better performance.

💼 Corporate / Business
Intermediate

Coworker Music

The audio wallpaper of corporate America—mainstream, impossibly inoffensive tracks that soundtrack your soul-crushing 9-to-5. Think Maroon 5, Imagine Dragons, and every song that's ever played in a Target. It's the musical equivalent of beige walls: designed to exist in the background while offending absolutely no one, serving as conversational filler for colleagues who've run out of weather-related small talk.

💼 Corporate / Business

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Intermediate

slumpin'

Describes music with a heavy, funky bass that hits just right—low enough to feel in your chest but groovy enough to ma...