NEW YORK — The Fox network is letting employees of some troubled small businesses decide which one of their colleagues will be laid off and turning the results into a reality show.
The series, “Someone’s Gotta Go,” is in production, but Fox on Wednesday wouldn’t say when it would air. Each episode will feature a company with about 15 or 20 employees that needs to cut costs because of the economy. Instead of the boss deciding who is fired, the company will open its books to show everyone’s salary and let the employees make the call.
Fox and Mike Darnell, chief of alternative programming, have had “absolutely no trouble” finding companies willing to participate, Darnell said.
Fox wouldn’t reveal the show’s host, which it says is a business consultant who will offer advice to participating companies.
Darnell said he wasn’t concerned about the emotional fallout, where an employee might be left to work with a colleague after just having said on national TV that he or she should be fired.
“Sounds like good reality television,” he said.
