According to one recent report, the staffing forecast for next year may be even worse than many have expected.
Due to the struggling economy, 60% of employers plan on cutting staff within the next 12 months, according to a new survey by the Society for Human Resource Management.
Employees likely to be affected include:
- people in technical/professional positions (13% of companies plan to lay off some of those employees)
- unskilled workers (13%), and
- administrative employees (11%).
Least likely to be laid off are executives (1%), salespeople (3%) and middle managers (6%).
In addition, 48% of companies reported having cut staff in 2008.
The survey also reveals details about how companies are handling the logistics of the cutbacks:
- 74% of employers offer severance pay to laid off employees.
- 28% offer career counseling.
- At companies that cut staff in 2008, 59% informed the affected employees in a one-on-one meeting with a supervisor and HR rep.
- When employees were laid off, remaining employees were informed through group meetings (64%), mass e-mails (22%), or through informal conversations with managers (21%).
