73% of HR leaders to do layoffs in 2024 - here's how to look after your remaining workers

2023 was a year full of layoffs – in a challenging, post-COVID-19 economy, these redundancies were in response to over hiring, and aims to cut costs and restructure organizations.

Research from The Adecco Group’s global business unit LHH found that 77% of organizations made or considered layoffs in 2023.

The figure has dropped to 73% in 2024 – this means that “layoffs will continue to be a complex reality for businesses and workers alike”, as Russell Williams, SVP, North America Career Transition & Mobility at LHH, exclusively tells UNLEASH.

According to LHH’s survey of 3,000 HR leaders and 8,000 workers worldwide in 2024, HR leaders said they expected layoffs to impact 16% of the global workforce in 2024.

There are also widespread concerns from workers; 36% are worried about being laid off from current employer.

Why layoffs aren’t always bad news for employers or workers

LHH’s report concludes that this story does not need to be all doom and gloom – layoffs don’t have to be bad news for employers or workers.

If done properly and with empathy, “both may move forward with a clearer view of the future and strengthened by the experience”, as John Morgan, President of LHH’s Career Transition & Mobility business, wrote in the report.If done properly and with empathy, “both may move forward with a clearer view of the future and strengthened by the experience”, as John Morgan, President of LHH’s Career Transition & Mobility business, wrote in the report.

The question that remains is what should companies prioritize when doing layoff?

They need to think carefully about the employees being let go and how they can support them, but organizations also need to really focus in on the concerns of their remaining employees if they don’t want to lose them.

Burnout is a huge issue facing companies across the world – this trend has been identified by the likes of Workday, Wellhub and Gallup, and was confirmed in LHH’s 2024 report.

69% of employees are burnt out in 2024; this is only a small decline from 2023 levels of 73%.

Not only is this driving disengaged, unproductive workforce, but it is pushing them to consider leaving (57%), causing a costly attrition crisis for employers.

Another focus for employers must be upskilling, reskilling and redeploying.

A surprising finding in LHH’s report is that the “the reasons behind layoffs are strongly shifting this year”, that’s according to Williams.

Rather than being about restructuring like in 2023, companies are focused more on poor performance (30%), and a lack of skills (29%). The focus for companies is no longer on rightsizing, but on so-called ‘right skilling’.

This is what employees want – 25% of those who are burnt out are looking for new opportunities internally, and they would be more inclined to stay at their company if there was a culture of skills and development support (31%) and a culture of career growth (29%).

The good news is that HR leaders are aware of these challenges – only 2% of them have no concerns about impact of layoffs on their organization.

A quarter of HR leaders are worried about burnout increasing workloads for remining employees, and 24% are worried about disengagement in their workforce.

They know that they need to tackle retention, by offering more reward and recognition programs (22%), learning and training programs (22%), a culture of growth (22%).

Williams tells UNLEASH: “There’s a clear movement of employers recognizing that a workforce needs to have the ability to adapt and meet new demands in order to stay competitive.”Williams tells UNLEASH: “There’s a clear movement of employers recognizing that a workforce needs to have the ability to adapt and meet new demands in order to stay competitive.”

HR, it’s time to make a change. The journey ahead is a long one – as LHH’s report stated a “renewed focus on development, growth, and culture to improve retention is unlikely to be felt immediately” – but all the effort will be worth it in the long run.