Layoffs are the highest-stakes call a CEO makes. Run the decision through a panel that argues finance, humanity, execution, and reputation — so the call you make is the one you can defend in five years.
The CFO models whether the layoff is actually required, when, and how much it buys you in runway versus other levers.
The Empath surfaces the personal and team impact most spreadsheets ignore — survivor guilt, performance dip, recruiter scar tissue.
The Skeptic and Ethicist debate the selection logic — performance, role redundancy, strategic fit — and flag where it's biased.
The Marketer and CEO debate how the layoff lands externally — recruiting, customer trust, press, social.
Real questions. Multiple expert perspectives. Every time.
“We need to cut 20% — do I cut once deep or in two smaller rounds?”
“Should I cut a high-performing but expensive team to extend runway?”
“Layoff or salary cuts across the company — which preserves more long-term value?”
“Whole team vs individual selection — which is more defensible?”
“Should I announce it all-hands first or notify individuals first?”
“How much severance is right for the runway impact versus reputation impact?”
Each expert thinks independently — they won’t just agree with each other.
The CFO
Pressure-tests unit economics, runway, and capital allocation.
The CEO
Holds the through-line on company strategy and stakeholder trade-offs.
The Empath
Reads the emotional, cultural, and team dynamics behind the decision.
The Ethicist
Surfaces second-order consequences and integrity-cost trade-offs.
The Operator
Turns strategy into the boring, sequenced work that actually ships.
A synthesized recommendation from your team of experts — not just opinions, but structured analysis.
Moderate Agreement
Key Recommendations
Synthesized Recommendation
Cut once, deep, with 16 weeks of severance and 6 months of healthcare. Two rounds destroy trust more than the cuts themselves. Avoid salary cuts as a substitute — they signal weakness to your strongest people and accelerate the wrong departures.
Full analysis continues with detailed reasoning, trade-offs, and next steps...
Watch Out For
Expert Opinions
The CFO's spreadsheet and the Empath's human-impact read sit at the same table — instead of getting separated into different meetings.
The Operator and Strategist propose alternatives — hiring freezes, vendor cuts, contractor consolidation — before defaulting to layoffs.
The Marketer reads the external story before you commit, so the announcement isn't the first time you think about it.
Sessions are private to your account. You can debate the hardest call without the room knowing.
The questions people ask before they sign up.
AI doesn't make the decision — you do. The panel surfaces the financial logic, the human cost, the selection bias, and the communication consequences so your decision is more thoughtful, not less. Outsourcing the call to a model would be unethical; using a structured debate to inform it is the opposite.
No, and it shouldn't — that requires private information about individuals you should not share with any model. The panel debates the structural decisions: size of cut, selection criteria, severance, timing, communication.
Most "decided" layoffs still have unresolved sub-decisions — how to communicate, how much severance, how to retain survivors, how to handle press. The panel works on those, which are often as important as the cut itself.
Share the financial picture (runway, burn, scenarios), the strategic context (what changed), the team structure, and the options you're weighing. Do not share names or individual performance data.
Neither — the Skeptic argues against and the CFO argues from runway necessity. You hear the strongest version of both cases. Most outputs are nuanced: cut here, not there; this much severance; this sequence.
Yes — sessions are private to your account, not shared with other users or used to train public models. You can debate the hardest restructuring call without it leaving your account.
Adjacent decisions, audiences, and methods inside SynthBoard.
Individual termination decisions versus structural cuts.
ExploreHow comp design connects to retention and cut economics.
ExploreRecurring CEO advisor for restructuring season.
ExploreSaaS-specific restructuring patterns.
ExploreHow AI debate compares to executive coaching.
ExploreImagine the layoff six months out — what made it worse?
ExploreEngineered opposition to the decision you've already made.
Explore250 bonus credits at signup. 150 free every month. No card required.