The title of this post was actually the subject of an e-mail we received this week. So what’s the answer to this horrible equation? According to our tipster:

“Buyout offers to senior personnel, the mentor class if you will, the only ones capable of passing along a given publication’s ethics and ethos.”

Sounds like any sense of “ethics” floating around the upper echelons of Condé Nast may be on the way out soon. But senior personnel aren’t the only ones who are facing the chopping block. Earlier this week another tipster told us her experiences with McKinsey consulting at her pub started with the president calling staffers into a meeting and announcing, “Look to your left, look to your right — your neighbor may not be here after this initiative.”

If you’ll try anything to save your job, Gawker has compiled a survival guide for Condé Nasters. But, having been through the layoff ringer once ourselves, this is the best advice we’ve heard all week:

“It’s a good idea to release any sense of control you might have over your future.”