After a white-hot labor market allowed Americans to jump jobs or negotiate higher pay and benefits at existing jobs, recent data suggests labor power is shifting back to employers.
Bob Nardelli, a former CEO of Home Depot, as reported by Moneywise earlier this month, sounded the alarm for American workers.
“We’re seeing people being laid off,” he said in February after corporations like UPS and General Motors announced they would cut staff in 2024. “We’re seeing a tremendous shift of employment out there.”
Also a former CEO of Chrysler, which is now Stellantis, Nardelli runs his own investment and consulting company called XLR-8. He criticized the handling of the economy and policies by the Biden Administration and was skeptical of avoiding a recession in the United States while inflation and interest rates remain high, both of which could result in more layoffs in multiple industries.
“I think we’re still in an inflationary period, and I think we’re not going to see a soft landing,” Nardelli said.
Demand for labor could lessen in 2024 and encourage employers to look for ways to cut costs, including layoffs, because of persistent inflation and wage increases.
Amsterdam-based automaker Stellantis cut hundreds of temporary workers although the UAW secured massive raises and thousands of temporary positions were made permanent.
Nardelli also blames the U.S. government for pushing electrical vehicles (EVs) into the market, which has forced Ford and General Motors to lay off workerss
An Indeed Hiring Lab report reveals 5 percent less job postings in March 2024 as compared to December 2023 but job searchers are up 13 percent.
The trend after the holiday season is for employers to increase job postings, but that did not happen in early 2024, according to associate economist Allison Shrivastava. The 2024 trend might explain social media posts of Americans complaining about the job market.
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Rebecca Barnabi
