My company is planning on doing layoffs at the end of the month. Is my fate sealed at this point or could I improve my odds if I really started busting it out?

There's a pretty good chance the decisions have been made and nothing you do going forward will affect that. But, you never know. Just for personal satisfaction you might as well finish strong. And, if there's any chance it can do any good, you will have done yourself some good and you won't be finishing at all.

Just start job searching now.

We got word layoffs were coming a few months in advance. A bunch of people spun out over it and stopped working. I kept working as hard as I had been until the last day when I had to turn in my badge. Many of the people who stopped working kept their jobs.

I don't regret working hard until the end. I gave them no reason to fire me and I know it's their loss.

Why are you just now considering "busting it out"?

Consider yourself lucky to even know layoffs are coming. Regardless of what your work is, always have an exit strategy in place.
In the meantime, continue to do good work and do no harm to customers or the company.

I was considered a subject matter expert dedicated, responsible and very sought after in many departments and I still got downsized after having a 25 year career. It doesn't matter really if you are a high work performer, or a low one, you are just a head count to an employer. Of course if you have like a needed one of a kind skill set they won't let you go. If you have a better work ethic than your coworker, they won't let you go. But if you are close to retirement, they will offer you a package, because they will backfill you with a lower salary person. The needs of the business is all they are concerned with. I came into my employer being told I would be there for forty years and retired, the company was family orientated, employee focused, until the business model changed, laws changed, and they were now in competition with other companies, so they will begin to streamline headcount to help profit.......always do the best you can in any job that you have, but never believe your job is safe. Save at least six months to a year worth of savings equal to your living status, because unemployment benefits don't last forever. Build up your 401k , and keep your skills up to date, because you might be unemployed for a long time. When I was downsized I couldn't find a job for three years, but that was because my skill set was very narrow. And I didn't know how to market myself. And then I went through years of contract work, so there were more periods of unemployment..... Layoffs are inevitable to all business.... Get your resume up to date and AI friendly, and get it out on all the job boards. You don't have to submit for anything, but someone might call you with a better job .

My observation is that decisions will be made based on bottom lines and not individual employee details. What I would recommend is gathering your data now so that, should you be ousted, you won't have to scramble to gather them at the last minute. These would include not only your Outlook *.pst files but also examples of reports you've developed, details around projects you've managed, etc. I was given a day to clear out, and so I've had to reconstruct a lot of my work history from memory. Had I had a heads up, my resume rebuilding would've been a lot easier.

its a scarely situation , i always feared to be laid off until i got laid off , but once u get laid off , perceive it positively
take a big breath , enjoy the transition , use the time to up skill as you apply for new jobs , after the transition , you will have got time to acquire new skills and a better paying job , and you will never fear a lay off again .. you will never again live in fear because its a normal procedures companies do all the time.
stand strong

Honestly, decisions about who will go and who will stay are dependent on many things: salary, age, future use of skills, relationships within the company (who likes you who doesn't) and the future plans of the company. What I would "bust it out" on is leaving a strong lasting impression in the work you are currently doing - these are your references going forward, and the best way to get another position anywhere. Build relationships. Use the time to learn something new. Then pack that into your LinkedIn profile and resume.

I think one should always be looking.

In all likelihood, if your company is having layoffs in 30 days or less, your fate is already sealed. If you don't do something stupid, you won't get on the layoff list if you're not already on yhe list. If you're on the list right now, you have almost zero chance of getting off the list.

Your name is already on an Excel spreadsheet. Noting you do will help at this point. Do as little or as much as you'd like. Just remember if that day comes to be polite and professional. You will be remembered for how you acted when leaving long after you are gone.

Ask yourself...do you really want to survive the layoff? This is why...these days this is mostly a cost reduction move. So when people are laid off the "survivors" get to be overworked by picking up the work of the laid off coworkers. So you become twice as stressed, twice as burned out, and the company gets 2 people's work accomplished for the cost of one salary. If you can't handle 2x the workload expect to be labeled a "low performer" and managed out. Layoffs really are dumb because the most talented see this situation for what it is and then leave for better opportunities. If I was in this situation I'd look for a better job and try to time it to get a severance package before leaving for a new job. Although given the current job market I might grit my teeth short term until something better comes along. Don't consider this advice, but it would be my "process". And if there are any managers out there that would hate this, or claim it's disloyal...cry me a river. I'd consider leaving a situation like this (i.e. leaving after a layoff) "un-regretted separation".

Agreed

What do you mean if you really started busting it out? Why were you not doing that from the start?

Since you know layoffs are coming try to maximize your learning of your code base, how it’s architected, how devops sets up your pipelines, general dev patterns, improve your unit tests, improve db and middleware knowledge, etc. Learn how everything works, and how everything is connected. Chances are that whoever they are going to get rid of they already have decided and you won’t know you’re one of them (if you are) until it’s too late. Part of that maximization of learning could be busting it out, because it’ll only make you stronger regardless if they let you go. If they do plan on letting you go, the extra effort, assuming the work you’re doing is transferable, will only make you a better candidate when applying for that new job. Hey, if they do hopefully keep you around then that extra effort will hopefully level you up faster! Good luck!