The truth behind LinkedIn's Open to Work banner

Matt Harrison Clough for BI

One afternoon this summer, a tech employee I'll call Dylan received a meeting invitation out of the blue. Labeled "private and confidential," the mandatory call was set for 10 the next morning. A follow-up email instructed him to come into the office to take the meeting, and to bring his ID badge and company-issued laptop with him.

The news he received the next morning was no surprise: The company had been quietly axing employees for months. He surrendered his badge and laptop...