Why are company layoffs becoming common?
Let’s talk about the job scenario in the context of the coming winter for the global economy. Given the developments that have hogged the headlines over the past few months, it may be apt to talk about the topic under the following heads:
Layoffs announced by companies in the U.S.
Layoffs announced in India in the context of start-ups
Job additions by the US economy that could serve as a signal to what exporters from here could
WFH as an influencer
What happened to jobs in India when the 2008 financial crisis hit us?
Manpower layoffs that have been announced in the U.S. over Sept and Oct. – crossed 60,000, according to global outplacement and coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. For October alone, at 33,843, clocked the highest for a single month since Feb 2021 when we were at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why are layoffs becoming common?
Google parent Alphabet’s CEO Sundar Pichai had warned of a coming winter in the tech sector earlier this year. In an all hands meeting in September this year, one of his responses to staff queries on budget cuts was: “We don’t get to choose the macroeconomic conditions always.”
A potential economic recession is a big red flag. And why might a recession be round the corner? With inflation zooming in most parts of the world, central banks have been scrambling since March this year to rein it by increasing rates. That is, make it more costly to borrow and consume. This would, eventually affect economic growth and hence jobs. The IMF has cited forecasts for global GDP growth in both 2022 and 2023 as gloomy, given the pandemic and ongoing European war. If you set apart the 2008 financial crisis, estimates for 2022 and 2023 by the IMF are the weakest since 2001.
What do U.S. CEOs feel about the coming months? What’s the scenario with Indian IT firms? What happened in India during earlier global recessions?
Script and presentation: K. Bharat Kumar
Production: Shibu Narayan
Videography: Johan Sathyadas
