"The higher-ups will use alternative words and phrases to cover "unpleasant" situations and decisions. Whatever helps them sleep at night, I guess.
But it's a bit creepy to hear the people having it done to them using the exact same terminology.
You're being laid off. Let go. Made redundant."
https://forums.theregister.com/forum/all/2024/10/01/kyndryl_layoffs/
Maybe we should "bench" them and see how they like it!
The term is used in all walks of life, from football to the workplace. It is a very old term that simply means "we have no work for you to do".
In ideal situations, an employer will always have work on the plate for their employees. A constant stream of work is needed to keep the payroll machinery running.
But sadly, in many environments that stream no longer exists. Sometimes that is due to mismanagement, sometimes it is due to outside events, and sometimes it is due to the larger economy. In IBM's case it is often due to all three conditions.
The term was and still is used all the time in Kyndryl (the former GTS) and in consulting.
It sounds as pleasant as "you'll be pushing up the daisies"