During my time at a previous company, my manager delivered a line during an all-hands meeting that has stuck with me ever since. He said, 'We aren't doing layoffs; we're just optimizing the human capital runway for future synergy.' It was a bizarre way to announce that five people were let go on a Friday via a Zoom call. The disconnect between his corporate jargon and the reality of the situation felt incredibly cold and inhumane. It made me reflect on how language can be manipulated in corporate settings.