Tech companies such as Alphabet and Meta Platforms, the parent companies of Google and Facebook, are warning employees slacking off to ramp up performance, signaling potential layoffs amid continued economic downturn.
This comes after the U.S.’s gross domestic product (GDP) fell 0.9% from April through June, a 1.6% annual drop from January through March, making financial experts concerned that the country may soon be in a recession during the fourth quarter of 2023 and into 2024.
“Any time there is a recession or warning of a recession, companies start looking inward and saying, how can we get ahead of this?” Julie Bauke, founder and chief career strategist with The Bauke Group, told Fox News.
Following a disappointing fiscal quarter, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai both told staffers they have productivity concerns and will begin to aggressively monitor staff performance.
“Just kind of turning up the heat a little bit,” said Zuckerberg in an audio recording obtained by Reuters. “I think some of you might decide that this place isn’t for you, and that self-selection is OK with me.”
Meanwhile, Picha reportedly told staffers last week that there are “real concerns that our productivity as a whole is not where it needs to be for the head count we have.”
Economist and Thru the Cycle President John Lonski said that if employees are warned of underperformance, they should brace for a possible layoff.
“If there are a large number of these warnings of underperformance, it probably will be followed by a reduction in staff unless there is some unexpected revitalization of the economy,” Lonski said. “There’s no denying payrolls are going to be growing much more slowly if at all as the reality of the economic growth of less than 1.5% on average through 2023 takes hold.”
Due to soaring inflation rates and skyrocketing gas prices, Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said that Americans are suffering from financial strain.
“Paired with historic inflation and shortages for basic goods like baby formula, the rising cost of gas is the result of Joe Biden and Democrats’ anti-U.S. energy agenda,” McDaniel said. “Unfortunately, Biden only plans to make this crisis worse for families by not doing anything.”
