A massive company now lays off thousands in Florida, a day before the fourth of July holiday, initially intended to happen next week.
Thousands of employees at Florida-based staffing giant UKG received devastating news just before the July 4th holiday.
Originally slated to be announced next week, UKG moved forward with mass layoffs on Wednesday, cutting an estimated 2,200 workers, equating to 14% of its workforce.
The timing of the announcement left employees reeling, casting a shadow over the holiday celebrations.
Employees took to social media platforms like Reddit to express their dismay and frustration.
One long-term employee posted, “Over 19 years and within 18 months to retire. Gone.”
The sudden and unexpected nature of the layoffs, particularly on the eve of a major holiday, has left many feeling blindsided and betrayed.
Another employee shared, “They tried to quietly lay off VPs on Monday while people were distracted by the holiday.
They then tried to keep quiet until next week, when they planned to lay everyone else off.
People noticed that VPs were gone, and then quite a number of affected employees found out via FedEx delivery manager that they were being laid off because shipping labels back to UKG were created for their address.
They acted in a disgusting and horrible, untransparent manner, and I’m so shocked and disgusted by what has transpired today.”
The manner in which the layoffs were handled has drawn widespread criticism. Employees found out through indirect means, such as FedEx shipping labels, adding to the distress and confusion.
The abrupt and seemingly unfeeling approach by UKG has sparked outrage among the workforce, who feel that the company’s actions were both poorly timed and executed without transparency or compassion.
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Also Read: Retirees Will Now Receive More Money For Social Security
Other Economy News Today
Applications for unemployment benefits now surge to new highs, a sign that the white-hot labor market is starting to cool off.
First-time applications for unemployment benefits rose last week to 231,000, the highest level since August, per CNN.
Thursday’s data also showed that the number of continuing claims, or applications from people who have filed for unemployment for at least one week, was 1.78 million.
That’s an increase of 17,000 from the prior week, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The latest numbers come less than a week after the monthly jobs report showed the US economy added just 175,000 positions in April, less than economists expected and a steep drop-off from prior months.
US employers have now added an average of 245,500 jobs per month, versus 2023’s 251,000-per-month average.
Still, hiring remains strong. Although the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9% last month, it’s the 27th consecutive month that the jobless rate has held under 4%, matching a streak last seen in the late 1960s.
Weekly jobless claims data tends to be volatile but, while one week’s worth of data “does not a trend make,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at Fwdbonds.
“We can no longer be sure that calm seas lie ahead for the US economy if today’s weekly jobless claims are any indication.”
“Company layoffs are picking up, hinting at caution on the part of companies as they weigh the outlook for the second half of the year,” he wrote in a note Thursday.
The Federal Reserve has been battling inflation by raising its key lending rate in the hopes of slowing the economy.
While the labor market has so far resisted those efforts, remaining white hot for the past 18 months despite 11 rate hikes from the central bank, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last week that demand has “cooled from its extremely high level of a couple of years ago.”
Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Economics said in a note Thursday: “We’d need to see at least a month of elevated readings to convince us that the trend really has turned.”
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Also Read: A Giant Company Now Announces Unexpected Layoffs in Virginia
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