BloombergBloomberg

Layoffs often leave companies worse off

By Sarah Green Carmichael

22 Jan 2023 · 4 min read

Editor's Note

It's almost always worse to have too few workers than too many, Bloomberg's Sarah Green Carmichael argues. Job cuts alienate customers and sap morale among employees who have to pick up the slack.

Employers these days seem to feel they have plenty of employees - maybe even too many as the economy slows down. That's what's driving layoffs of tens of thousands of workers in tech, banking and other industries.

But executives should be careful about making deep cuts. Because as the last three years have reminded us, having too few workers is almost always worse than having too many. When organizations are shorthanded, morale plunges and profits suffer. And companies often end up investing immense time and effort to rebuild their workforces not long after whittling them down.

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