Types of Employees Most Vulnerable to Layoffs 2023: Are You on the List?

Many people are witnessing layoffs 2023 in the news and are concerned about their chances of getting laid off. After Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, Meta and Twitter, Google has also joined the bandwagon of layoffs 2023 after announcing its intent to fire 12,000 employees across the globe. Every sector, organisation, and the department has unique risks, yet some are more vulnerable than others.

While companies have been giving various reasons for firing employees, some job roles are certainly more vulnerable than the others. Here are some broad principles, approximately ranked from lowest to most dangerous, according to Chris Williams, former VP of HR at Microsoft and podcaster, consultant, and TikTok creator.

Profitable workers are the safest.

• The general idea is that the closer your employment is to the company's most profitable operations, the less likely you will be laid off.
• Your layoff risk is low if you are a vital component of developing the most lucrative product for your firm. 
• When they return to their primary business, companies turn to excellent items that produce money.
• If you're critical to one of those items, your chances of losing your job are equivalent to the company's overall risk of failing.

Employees in human resources or finance

• When individuals consider areas of layoff risk, they frequently include staff services such as finance, facilities, or human resources.
• However, even when things are good, most businesses function on a tight budget in these areas.
• Typically, there is little surplus to trim. Furthermore, HR is critical in a layoff, and finance is frequently dependent on when the financial situation is scrutinised.
• As a result, these areas are rarely the source of a significant reduction in most layoffs.

Employee benefits or event planning

• Activities deemed a luxury, such as rich benefits and staff perks, are more hazardous.
• If you work in event planning, for example, you should know that those are among the first things that firms eliminate when times go tough. 
• People who work in such industries are at significant risk of getting laid off.
• And now, the three employees most vulnerable to layoffs are here.

Employees involved in a new project

• It would be best if you were wary about new projects. 
• If the organisation recently opted to explore new areas of business or expand into new territory while things were good, they are risky locations to work.
• Unless the organisation makes a solid attempt to pivot totally to these new sectors, these recent efforts are frequently the first to be dropped when times are tough.

Contract employees

• Contract employees are at the far end of the risk range in layoffs 2023. 
• This is one of the primary reasons organisations use temporary or contract staff. 
• They aim to be adaptable in the event of a downturn.
• As a result, contract workers are frequently the first to go when the tide shifts.
• Most occupations lie somewhere in between these two extremes.
• It might be difficult to assess your layoff risk in these transitional situations. 
• Determining which parts are critical or at risk needs intimate knowledge of your company's retreat and recovery strategies, which can be challenging to distinguish from a distance.

Conclusion

Maintaining a personal record of your successes in a running document is a valuable tool. Include key accomplishments and the crucial summary information you would give an outsider when discussing your position. Update this list at least once a month to keep it up to date and your memory of events fresh. You don't want to preserve business secrets, but an impressive list that's constantly up to date will make upgrading your résumé a breeze if and when you need to. Keep it and your résumé on your device in case the worst happens without warning. Keeping your résumé up to date will help you weather the impending storm and offer you confidence that you will be able to bounce back regardless of your layoff risk.