Is It Business Or Personal?

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This is one of those questions no one can really answer unless you’ve been in a position to make a hard decision concerning the hiring and firing of people.

Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina, and Mitt Romney all took a lot of abuse online and in the news about firing large groups of people.

Why So Many?

The biggest expense for most businesses is payroll expense. Every extra body you don’t need reduces the bottom line for the company.

In many cases corporations are forced to run leaner and meaner than they would like. When a company is in trouble a restructuring plan is usually devised.

And that plan almost always means that all but the top 70 percent of the food chain will be let go.

On The Surface It Seems Personal

These layoffs and firings always make negative headlines for the company.

Those who are ignorant of how a corporate business is structured and operates seem to always point to the outrageous salary (in their opinion) of the company CEO.

How can they continue to pay the top guy bushel baskets of money while the people most responsible for those baskets being full are kicked to the curb?

Have they no soul? Have they no compassion? Can’t they keep a few of these non-productive workers employed? Can’t the company just suck it up and keep going as usual?

No they can’t. The associated costs are just too much to absorb. In order to save a diseased body a limb might need to be sacrificed.

It might be poor management on the companies’ part, or it might be an error in evaluating their market share, or their competitive rung on the marketplace ladder.

The marketplace is not stagnant; it’s fluid. It’s always in flux.

Waiting too long to make hard decisions can be the difference between saving a company and losing it entirely.

Some Final Thoughts

Carrier Air Conditioners are moving one of their plants to Mexico. Walgreen’s is toying with moving their headquarters to Canada after acquiring Tim Holt Coffee.

Shouldn’t we be asking why these companies are moving?

Moving to another country is a major decision. You no longer have the protections of the United States government or the US courts.

Many companies have seen the error of their ways and are returning to US shores but many have acquired more automation and thus need to hire less, not more, people.

It’s not personal. It seems personal when you’re told that you're no longer needed. But what would be the advantage of staying in a dying company? If anything they are doing you a favor by pushing you out.

Your skills and expertise might be more valuable to your next employer than you thought.

It’s always business — it’s not personal.

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