SINGAPORE: After reports surfaced that around 600,000 employees had been swept up in major layoffs, Canadian investor Jim Chuong took to Instagram to remind everyone that performance reviews are merely “legal documents” to justify these job cuts.
In a short video clip, Chuong said, “I don’t know how many times I have to say it. Apparently a lot, because everyone keeps forgetting your performance review doesn’t matter. Never did, still doesn’t, never will.”
He continued, “No, ‘you are not exceeding expectation.’ Your compensation was set by a budget committee a year ago. You are not overachieving any metric whatsoever. You are paid exactly what a shareholder wants you to be paid.”
Chuong then showed a list outlining the number of workers laid off by 30 large companies.
“Here’s a list of employees that have been terminated recently,” he said. “Do you think all these 600,000 employees all had bad performance reviews? I’m sure a lot of them exceeded expectations. They still got let go.”
Chuong added that he was quite certain that the human resources and legal departments at these large companies have carefully archived every single one of the performance reviews linked to the employees who were laid off.
“Your performance review document is not even for you,” he stressed. “It’s a legal document for human resources and legal. It justifies, if they need to in the future, reasons for terminating you.”
“Two things can be true at the same time.”
At the time of writing, the video clip has amassed more than 2,100 likes and has been shared nearly 1,500 times on Instagram.
In the comments section, opinions were split. Some users said they agreed with Chuong’s view that performance reviews don’t hold any real weight.
One user shared, “I was impacted by a mass layoff … no reviews matter.”
Another wrote, “The year was 2024: I exceeded expectations and LET GO after two months.”
A third remarked, “I’ve lost count of the managers willing to give a good performance review to avoid conflict, then do whatever they want (fire, layoff, no raise) entirely independent of the review.”
A fourth advised everyone, “As soon as you have a suspicion of an unsatisfactory performance review, start applying elsewhere; your time is ticking.”
Others, however, argued that performance reviews still play an important role in many workplaces, particularly when it comes to bonuses, promotions, or professional development.
One user said, “This dude is spiraling. Two things can be true at the same time.”
Another added, “Wrong…many employers pay bonuses based on review metrics. But for those 600K, ouch!”
In other news, a Malaysian woman has sparked discussion online after expressing shock at the price of a simple cai fan meal in the Central Business District, saying the once budget-friendly dish now feels more like a “luxury.”
In her post on the r/SingaporeRaw forum, she shared that during a recent visit to a food court near Raffles Place, she ordered cai fan with two vegetables and one meat, only to be charged S$8.50 for the plate.
The woman said that when she heard the price, she almost asked the auntie if the “chicken was gold plated.”
Read more: ‘Is the chicken gold-plated?’ Malaysian woman stunned by S$8.50 cai fan in Singapore CBD
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