As the pandemic pummels companies worldwide, it’s expected that more than 40% of recent layoffs will result in permanent job loss.
This means we’ll see only 3 new hires for every 10 layoffs.
It’s an unprecedented shock, on numerous levels, to people and business.
This market turmoil is catalyzing recalibration on every level and a rapid shift into a new era in business and technology.
It’s the era of back to basics.
It’s the era of technology-enabled frugality.
It’s the era of business-in-a-box.
This shift is catapulting companies (and other organizations) into their 5-to-10-year ahead smart, flexible, frugal future selves — pretty much overnight!
Here’s a snapshot of what’s happening right now:
Companies are responding with fast and aggressive cost reductions
HR employees are laid off en masse because, as Uber CEO pointed out this week, “there simply isn’t enough work for recruiters.”
Market-facing corporate functions (including marketing and customer service) are bearing the brunt as well.
Uber is laying off 15% of its corporate workforce, Lyft is laying off 17%.
Airbnb is laying off 25% of its global personnel, while Tesla is laying off 50% of its US market-facing staff.
Layoffs at established companies, including Disney, GE, GM, Boeing, Hertz, Marriott, Gap, and a host of other hospitality, restaurant groups, retail and airlines follow similar patterns.
But companies also need to continue and operate.
And that’s precisely where smart cloud technology is accelerating the shift to frugal-and-flexible solutions with zero fixed costs.
Transforming into a cloud-enabled smart business was something companies did to gain a long-term business advantage; the pandemic made it a survival strategy.
As Tim Jackson (the British economist) said, companies (and people) used to spend money they didn’t have, on things they didn’t need, to create impressions that won’t last, on people they didn’t care about.
That belongs to a bygone era.