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Bosses Are Firing Gen Xers and Boomers Left and Right (And Honestly, We See Why)

Older workers are facing pressure in today's workplaces, and understanding why could help protect your career and your finances.

By Kristin Hitchcock

Edited by Sara Albertelli

Updated Dec. 16, 2025

Older workers aren't imagining it. Downsizing, reorganizations, and "strategic workforce shifts" are hitting Gen Xers and Boomers harder than anyone else. Some of it comes down to economics, some of it to culture, and some of it to the way the workplace has evolved faster than many workers expected. Employers are making tough decisions, and unfortunately, older generations often end up on the bubble.

If you're trying to spot your own career vulnerabilities, here's what might be happening behind the scenes, and how identifying these patterns could help you lower your financial stress.

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They might lean heavily on "the way we've always done it"

Many Gen X and Boomer employees built successful careers on consistency and routines that worked for decades. The downside? In fast-moving workplaces, leaning too hard on legacy systems can create friction with managers looking for adaptability.

When a company is pushing new tools, workflows, or priorities, being slow to pivot can make someone seem misaligned with current needs. Older workers may also face subtle bias when managers assume reluctance to change is age-related; in fact, 90% of workers over 50 say they've experienced ageism in the workplace.

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Adaptation to new technology could be slower

While plenty of older workers are extremely tech-savvy, research consistently shows that Gen Xers and Boomers, on average, adopt new digital platforms, automation tools, and AI systems more slowly.

That slower curve isn't incompetence. It often stems from being trained in hands-on environments instead of constantly evolving digital ones. But when a company rolls out new systems on tight timelines, slower adoption could be interpreted as a lack of agility, putting these workers at risk during reorganizations.

They may be experienced, but also expensive

Higher salaries are a natural outcome of decades of experience, but they can become a vulnerability during cost-cutting cycles. Companies don't often say it outright, but replacing a seasoned worker with someone younger (and cheaper) might look appealing on a spreadsheet.

Even when an older employee is genuinely productive, finance teams sometimes prioritize cost savings over institutional knowledge. This trend tends to accelerate during layoffs involving entire departments.

Communication styles might not match modern workplace norms

Boomers and older Gen Xers came up in far more formal work environments, where hierarchy, in-person communication, and direct feedback were the norm. Today's workplaces prize flexibility, informal collaboration, and async digital communication.

That mismatch can lead to misunderstandings, such as coming across as overly stern, overly formal, or uninterested in collaborative decision-making. It's rarely intentional, but perceptions shape performance reviews more than most people realize.

Comfort with hierarchy might be misread as reluctance to collaborate

Older generations learned to climb structured corporate ladders, which rewarded independence, personal responsibility, and specialization. Modern workplaces flatten that structure and push cross-functional teamwork.

When a more seasoned employee prefers to "own their lane" rather than jump into brainstorming sessions or collaborative work groups, younger managers might mistakenly interpret it as disengagement. This dynamic becomes especially sharp in industries where collaboration drives output.

They could underestimate the importance of personal branding

One of the biggest generational divides is how people talk about their accomplishments. Younger workers tend to highlight their wins quickly and publicly, Slack updates, deck slides, stand-up meetings, you name it.

Many Gen Xers and Boomers still believe their work "should speak for itself." The problem? In busy workplaces, unspoken work can go unnoticed. That lack of visibility sometimes makes older employees look like they're contributing less than they actually are.

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Skill refreshes might not happen as frequently

It wasn't that long ago that you could work at a company for years without updating your formal training. That is not today's world. If you're not constantly upskilling, it's easy to fall behind, especially when industries introduce new certifications and processes every single year. Some older workers get caught in the crossfire simply because they never had to treat ongoing education as a job requirement earlier in their careers.

They may struggle in workplaces with rapidly shifting priorities

If you talk to older workers who've lived through multiple business cycles, you'll hear some version of: "I just want the company to pick a direction and stay with it for longer than five minutes."

But agility is now the name of the game: new goals, new metrics, new leadership philosophies every quarter. When someone shows visible frustration with all that chaos, leadership might mark them as "not aligned with our evolving strategy."

Their straightforward feedback style can rub younger managers the wrong way

Some Gen Xers and Boomers give feedback the same way they were trained to receive it: directly and without much cushioning. In a world where managers spend hours practicing how to phrase even minor critiques carefully, an older worker who cuts straight to the point can unintentionally generate tension.

It only takes a few moments like this for someone to get labeled as "hard to manage."

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Work habits sometimes reflect a different era

Long hours. Working through lunch. Volunteering for "extra" tasks to prove reliability. These approaches used to be the gold standard. But younger managers often want consistent boundaries, efficiency, and sustainable pacing instead.

When older employees express dedication through outdated work habits, it can look like they're out of sync with current expectations, not old-fashioned, just misaligned.

Bottom line

Older workers aren't losing their jobs because they're incapable. They're losing them because today's workplace moves at a pace (and with a culture) that didn't exist when many of them built their careers. Understanding where those gaps show up can help Gen Xers and Boomers course-correct before their role ends up on the next restructuring list.

According to a recent study, among U.S. workers ages 45 to 60 who were laid off in the past decade, about 24% were unable to find a new job. This means a significant segment of older workers is remaining unemployed much longer than younger cohorts. The good news? Even small shifts can strengthen job security and help you make money moves.

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