What the Tsunami of Corporate Layoffs Really Means

What the Tsunami of Corporate Layoffs Really Means

Peter Reagan

There are so many signals that point to the possibility of entering a near-term recession, they are hard to ignore.

Unless you choose to follow Paul Krugman’s lead and stick your head in the sand.

But let’s look at the economic situation in this country from another perspective: What if the United States is already mired in a long recession that might have started earlier?

It’s certainly possible. Especially once you factor in the reality of Biden’s job market, which doesn’t match what is being described in the corporate media outlets.

An article published on CNBC summarized the situation, but also tried to downplay it:

Nike, Mattel, PayPal, Cisco, Levi Strauss and UPS are just a few of the companies that have announced layoffs in recent weeks.

Corporate leaders have tried to show that they’re aggressively countering inflation-fueled expense increases and adjusting as consumer demand normalizes.

But the job market actually appears to be “correcting” itself after a decade of Fed confusion and the recent panicked response to the pandemic.

Following is some evidence which supports the conclusion that at least some type of economic correction, most likely a full-blown recession, is underway right now…

Layoffs, layoffs, and more layoffs appear to be taking center stage during what is supposed to be Biden’s “strongest job-creating” market, according to him.

Let’s start by taking a look at only a few of the companies that are laying off hundreds to thousands of employees, starting with Nike:

Nike is cutting 2% of its current workforce [1,500 jobs at least] as it looks to reinvest in its growth areas and streamline its business. The sneaker giant is contending with a slowdown in consumer spending and looking to save $2 billion over the next three years as part of a restructuring plan.

So, Nike is contending with a “slowdown.” Let’s see why other companies are laying people off during an economy that features still-persistent inflation:

Former Home Depot and Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli warns not to ignore mass layoffs.

“We’re now seeing people being laid off,” he continued, “If you look at [semiconductor] chips, they’ve laid off almost 40,000 people. We’re seeing a tremendous shift in employment out there where people are being laid off.”

In the last two weeks, companies like Cisco, Snap, Estée Lauder, Amazon, Citigroup and UPS have all announced layoffs as executives tighten their belts amid rate volatility.

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