Salesforce to cut workforce by 10% after hiring ‘too many people’ during the pandemic
TechCrunchMAY 2023
The Spin
Narrative A
Although the pandemic tech boom allowed companies to increase their workforces by as much as double, recent economic woes have, unfortunately, shattered that brief market boom. The US Federal Reserve has reacted to inflation by hiking interest rates, leading to a reduction in available venture capital. Digital ad revenue is also down, and firms overhired during the pandemic, forcing Silicon Valley to downsize.
Narrative B
Layoffs are the old-school way of dealing with a recession. Nowadays, companies should instead find alternatives because social media has made everyone a workers' rights activist with a global microphone. Beyond the poor optics, companies that conduct mass layoffs have been proven to perform less well than those that avoid them because of the cost of restructuring and the low morale caused among remaining staff.