Layoffs are all the rage
How times have changed. Just six months ago, surveys were showing about half of all companies answering were concerned about finding and retaining qualified talent.
Now the list of companies releasing 1.5% to 20% of their workforce is a list longer than my monitor will show without scrolling.
Companies with layoffs in 2023:**
David’s Bridal layoffs: 83% of workforce laid off (April 2023)
Roku layoffs: 6% of workforce laid off (March, 2023)
Lucid Group layoffs: 18% of workforce laid off (March, 2023)
Meta layoffs: 13% of workforce laid off (March, 2023)
Twitter layoffs: 10% of workforce laid off (February, 2023)
Twillo layoffs: 17% of workforce laid off (February, 2023)
Roomba layoffs: 7% of workforce laid off (February, 2023)
Disney layoffs: 3% of workforce laid off (February, 2023)
Zoom layoffs: 15% of workforce laid off (February, 2023)
Dell layoffs: 5% of workforce laid off (February, 2023)
HubSpot layoffs: 7% of workforce laid off (February, 2023)
PayPal layoffs: 7% of workforce laid off (February, 2023)
IBM layoffs: 1.5% of workforce laid off (January, 2023)
Gemini layoffs: 10% of workforce laid off (January, 2023)
Yankee Candle layoffs: 13% of office workers laid off (January, 2023)
3M layoffs: <1% of workforce laid off (January, 2023)
Spotify layoffs: 6% of workforce laid off (January, 2023)
Google (Alphabet) layoffs: 6% of workforce laid off (January, 2023)
Microsoft layoffs: 4-5% of workforce laid off (January, 2023)
Amazon layoffs: 1-2% of workforce laid off (January, 2023)
Carta layoffs: 10% of workforce laid off (January, 2023)
Coinbase layoffs: 20% of workforce laid off (January, 2023)
DirecTV layoffs: 5-6% of workforce laid off (January, 2023)
Salesforce layoffs: 10% of workforce laid off (January, 2023)
Vimeo layoffs: 11% of workforce laid off (January, 2023)
Goldman Sachs layoffs: 8% of workforce laid off (January, 2023)
Compass layoffs: size of layoffs not immediately known (January, 2023)
Stitch Fix layoffs: 20% of workforce laid off (January, 2023)
Yes, more companies think that we are headed for recession (43%) than think the economy will be flat (35%) or expanding (19%)*. Technically, we are still waiting for a recession to be declared. (recession – (defn)a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced, generally identified by a fall in GDP in two successive quarters.) Still, you would think the companies that just got done professing problems about adding and retaining people, would be laying off as a last resort rather than its early steps.
Perhaps it is all about the news cycle and laying off sends a clear message that your costs will be lower and therefore immediately improve the bottom line.
I am guessing these companies will then be expecting forgiveness or less scrutiny when they go back to professing anxiety about finding qualified people.
At PlastiCert we like the full time staff we have and are banking on them helping us weather any financial turmoil on the horizon. We are betting on needing these people and more long term, and as such keeping them around.
We’ll be doing whatever cost cutting we can do besides eliminating bodies. Cutting capital expenditures, watching our account receivables, watching our inventory levels, managing our cash position, executive team pay cuts.
Because we have seen this before. We know that looking out for our long-term success is also looking out for our customers’ long-term success.
** https://mondo.com/insights/mass-layoffs-in-2022-whats-next-for-employees/#company-layoffs-2023
*Enterprise Minnesota State of Manufacturing Survey https://www.enterpriseminnesota.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/EMN-State-of-Manufacturing-2022-Presentation_Final_.pdf