Folks, it is layoff season again, and we cannot come up with a cute lil joke to ease us into that news. Consulting firm PwC says that fully half of the 700 execs it interviewed are planning layoffs and/or hiring freezes. Insurance seller GoHealth is laying off 800 employees and Groupon is laying off 500. The latter is mostly shocking because those 500 people are only 15% of the total staff … meaning Groupon still has something like 3,000 employees? HOW?
Others aren’t so lucky. While pharma company Clarus is laying off fewer than 10 employees, that represents a full 40% of its current workforce — and the cuts still might not be enough to keep it in business. It’s almost like companies that skipped due diligence and went public through SPACs are not all that sturdy.
The specter of recession is unsettling, but our biggest fear is that companies will use these layoffs and dips as an opportunity to claw back the gains employees have made in the last couple of years. Fortunately, the same PwC survey has some good news on that front: While half of companies may be planning to reduce staff, 64% are planning to increase compensation and 70% are planning to finalize some sort of work-from-home policy. A further 62% are planning to expand mental health benefits, but we say keep it! Support single-payer healthcare instead, and stop stressing out your employees. So much more cost-effective.
Fortunately, more workers will be able to push these points, as Howard Brown Health’s 500 workers have voted to unionize. Love to see care workers choose to take care of themselves!
Electric vehicle maker Rivian may be regretting its recent layoffs, now that it’s facing 200,000 orders for trucks and vans and an expected surge thanks to new incentives for EV purchases. Selfishly, we just want to see the company ramp up production so we have more options to buy electric without supporting That Guy.
Sibel Health will also be expanding production, thanks to a $33 million Series B. The company makes health sensors that remotely monitor vital signs. Interestingly, the round was led by a nonprofit focused on improving quality of life, meaning that at least someone thinks Sibel Health can do exactly that. Also promising: Mention of new partnerships and new revenue, meaning this might not be an entirely venture-funded endeavor.
Jobs, Glorious Jobs
Specialist, Storyteller and Content Creator at Feeding America
Multimedia journalists, check this: A fully remote job with travel to tell the stories of people facing hunger through interviews, video, photography, writing and graphics.
Senior Digital Content Creator for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
The concept of “black pants jobs” came up the other day in conversation with one of our genius friends. That is, jobs that require you to wear black pants, but that make up for the inconvenience with stability and compensation the sweatshirt crowd could never match. This is a black pants job. You will have to go into the office, but you will also get a 401(k).
Not-a-Thing of the Week
“Quiet quitting,” aka doing your actual job as written, the one that you are compensated for. Does not need a new word actually, we can just call this “working” and everything else “exploitation.”
Inspiration of the Week
—This clip, forever and ever and ever amen. Far be it from us to celebrate the works of Joseph Robinette Biden, but oh, may we all live long enough to deliver this handshake to the people who have stood in our way.
Also, given that the bill delivers a boost to green energy, the funding for the IRS to go after tax cheats, the cap on prescription drug prices for Medicare recipients and other good things, we should probably try to take a moment and … celebrate it?
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