On Thursday afternoon, Bayer announced a large-scale restructuring that will result in 12,000 layoffs, a “significant number” of which will occur in Germany, where the multinational pharmaceutical and life sciences giant is headquartered, according to news reports.

Earlier this week, General Motors also announced that it plans to cut production at several factories in several states and reduce its salaried workforce by 15 percent, or more than 14,000 employees, CNBC reported.

For employers and corporate counsel dealing with significant reductions in force such as these, “the key aspect at the end of the day is effective planning in all of the phases,” said Jonathan Stoler, a New York partner at Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton.

Corporate Counsel spoke with Stoler, as well as Mark Poerio of The Wagner Law Group in Washington, D.C., about what in-house counsel need to consider when their company is facing Bayer- and GM-like layoffs.

1. Conduct an adverse impact analysis.

Before any information is communicated to employees, the company should engage in a highly thorough vetting process to decide which employees are candidates to be let go, ensuring there are no demographic issues that may lead to claims of direct or indirect discrimination in the selections, Stoler said. He added that this includes identifying a “legitimate business reason” for every individual layoff.

This analysis should be done companywide, rather than at just the department level.

“That is why the planning is so important,” Stoler said. “While a particular reduction in force may make sense by individual department, when you look at it collectively, the adverse impact may be that more women or more minorities are selected, even though that is not the intended purpose.”

2. Be aware of legal requirements.

The main federal law governing the issue of corporate layoffs is the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which generally requires a company to give the affected employees 60 days' notice, Poerio said. However, he added, “mini-WARNs,” which apply on a state-by-state basis, could contain different requirements that employers should be aware of, based on which jurisdictions they are subject to.

In addition to statutory notice obligations, employers also will want to be mindful of any contractual employee agreements, Stoler said. He noted that, in some cases, triggered severance obligations may render it too costly to select certain employees for layoff over others.

3. Thoughtfully communicate companywide.

For employee morale purposes, employers and their HR departments will want to create a well-thought-out communication plan directed to both laid-off and remaining employees, Stoler said.

“You have to manage the [employees'] shock of being told, 'You're fired,'” he said. “While no one wants to hear that, there is a right way and a wrong way to deliver that message.”

Providing information about, among other things, post-employment benefits and job-placement services will make clear to employees that there is a plan in place to make the transition as smooth as possible, Stoler said.

4. Encourage remaining employees.

In the face of a layoff, employers will want to provide a sense of security to remaining employees, Poerio said. He explained that this can be done either through severance plans, which provide employees a “safety net” or through various incentives, including cash, profit-sharing, retention bonuses, stock options and restricted stock units.

In considering these options, Poerio said, employers will want to “look at their workforce and what is most meaningful to their employees.”

He added: “You will want to ask, 'Which of these [incentives] will keep our star employees staying with us and encouraged for the future?'”