You have just been promoted to a middle-level manager at a Fortune 500 company. This promotion was a surprise; your boss decided to leave the company, and you were promoted to lead its most profitable division.

This is your first week in this position, and you are taking part in a high-level meeting about the financial state of the company. Due to the poor state of the economy, which has caused sluggish sales, upper management has decided to downsize the entire company by dismissing 3% of the employees in every division.

Come up with an appropriate memo to deliver the bad news to all of the team leaders in your division. Your memo should provide employees with the following information:

• All downsized employees will receive three months' severance pay.
• The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) will be available, so health insurance can be continued for up to one year at the cost of $740 per month.
• Employment counseling will be available so employees can update their rsum, get help searching for jobs, and get help finding retraining or college programs.

Also, you must defend your promotion since you used to be a team leader and know that questions about your promotion will be asked.

Specifically, your memo will need to focus on the following elements:

• Organization and Tone: Be sure to present the information in a logical manner, while taking into account the primary audience. Since this is a bad-news memo, tone is particularly important.
• Communication of Ideas: Express your ideas clearly and accurately, using as few words as necessary to get your point across.
• Promotion Justification: Clearly explain and defend the decision.