Why Mass Layoffs Are Horrible PR For Corporate America

In the last few months, a number of companies across the world have been cutting jobs left and right as they look to recover from the long-term effects of COVID-19’s arrival in 2020 and prepare for the upcoming recession. From tech to media, thousands are now being forced to re-enter the job market during one of the worst periods of inflation and unemployment we have seen in years. Although these decisions can be seen as necessary for the survival of these businesses, what does that mean for the millions of people who now don’t have a way to pay their bills or provide for their families? For those who have devoted years of service to a company only to be let go and replaced with someone who is younger and cheaper, how does that motivate them to want to start all over somewhere else? In 2023, most of us are honest about not wanting to actually have to work hard and bend over backwards for our employer to survive, but these mass layoffs are making it even more difficult to convince people that company loyalty is worth it.

With entrepreneurship and content creation becoming more popular channels for income, I foresee more and more people taking advantage of their newfound free time and leaving corporate America for good. If they can no longer depend on the stability of a “good, corporate job” for their livelihood, why wouldn’t they be more willing to take the risk of working for themselves, no matter what that may look like. Between low wages, microaggressions, office politics in the workplace, and now these mass and unapologetic layoffs, I’d say corporate America will begin to struggle to attain and retain millennial and gen Z employees. These generations had already seen how their parents were strung along and disposed of by these companies and had begun to use them as a means to an end, being more willing to quit jobs, job hop for upward mobility and publicly pushback on outdated office policies. Although I doubt a complete erasure of “corporate girlies,” I do believe that these mass layoffs were the icing on the cake for young employees who are trying to figure out how to navigate the work world and work life balance. Let this be a reminder to always choose you and remember that a job doesn’t make or break you, no matter how big the name or the salary.