Which Teacher Goes First?

I was never part of the management team at Yes Youngdo but I think I know something about this process. The manager talked to me a lot about this and I believe this is what happens each time someone is chosen who will be let go. I'll try to explain as best I can.

Based on what the manager of my branch told me not long before I left there were five-six teachers there that he wanted to leave. And the total number was 16! If the manager wasn't counting me because I was already due to leave, that means he was looking at a group of only 15. Consider the proportion of teachers he wanted to fire: 5-6 out of 15. Five makes 1/3 of them and 6 is 40%. The manager hired a new teacher and started processing their visa just at the time he told me to leave. During the period I had between then and actually going, about ten days, I learned a lot about the situation - hiring, firing and making a decision. The manager said to me later that they decided, I think really he did, that I would be the first to leave. Please read below for more explanation. To put it simply: one new teacher came who would replace one of the existing teachers. The group of 16 teachers was looked at and particularly the group of six or so who weren't doing well according to their standards. Out of those one teacher was chosen who would be let go, and the rest would stay until replacements could be found, until they quit or possibly improved their status to "good teacher."

I believe the process of choosing which teacher to fire went like this. The manager and other staff considered these things:

• Some teachers came alone while others came as couples.
• If you fire a single teacher you need find only one replacement, but if you fire a teacher who's part of a couple, the other teacher will most likely quit.
• Finding two replacements at one time is a lot harder than finding one.
• Some teachers also came in pairs such as two girls who are friends.
• Firing one would upset the other, possibly causing her to quit.
• Some teachers had worked several months while many were new having worked only about one month.
• Firing a teacher who's only been there for about a month may seem unfair to the other teachers while firing one who has worked longer makes more sense.
• Firing a teacher who is friends with several other teachers could upset them or hurt the hagwon's reputation if he/she tells them how they were treated.
• A teacher who is well-known or has connections with others such as parents, other hagwons, media, etc. could cause a lot of problems if fired.

I believe after considering so many things, Yes Youngdo chooses the teacher who is not necessarily the worst teacher in the hagwon, but who is the most convenient to fire, the easiest to let go of. A teacher who couldn't cause too many problems such as upsetting other teachers, causing others to quit, talking to students' parents or hurting the hagwon in some other way is the best candidate for dismissal.

• I want to add here that I think it's absolutely wrong for the hagwon to allow six teachers to continue working thinking everything is ok when there is a plan to eventually let them go. Anyone at Yes Youngdo at that time would have said the replacements must be found before teachers are let go but it's still not right in my opinion. Substitutes could be found. Teachers or managers could cover the classes.