The general rule is that when a CEO or other high-level executive says anything like, “There will not be layoffs” or “We have no plan for laying off people,” it’s time to update the ol’ resume. This means layoffs are imminent 100% of the time.
This has happened a few times in my career and I’ve never been wrong.
The reason they do is that they are attempting to not lose people in a rush out the door — but they do anyway. The very second I hear anything like this, there is a sonic boom of my ass scooting. So they end up losing their best people quickly.