Lay-offs Not The Only Solution

When the dollar slides as rapidly as it has over the last week or two, you know things are pretty bad with the economy. Up to yesterday, it took almost J$90 to buy US$1. By next week who knows what the rate will be.

Since the state of the global economy made headlines, we knew hard times were ahead. And the inevitable (arguably necessary) "evil" occured: lay-offs. At the very mention of possible redundacies, the nail biting begins. Clearly this is not something to look forward to, especially in a time of economic strain compared to that of the US Great Depression of the early 1900's. Unfortunately, there are some organizations that seem to have no choice but to cut staff. And when we look around, we wonder, where are these people going to go? How will they take care of their needs and their family's needs? These are a couple questions among many that we have difficulty answering. However, all is not lost. While some organizations may be cutting staff, there are several companies that have employed alternative measures to help their workers. 

Last week it was reported that employees at Berger Paints agreed to take a 20% pay cut in order to maintain their jobs. Other companies have applied the same and other strategies to help their workers keep their jobs. I thought this was a satisfactory move and believe that if other businesses can follow suit they should, especially since it's been reported that over 3,000 workers have been made redundant since January. 

Saving jobs, I think, should be priority. Yes, things are strained now but I've decided to approach the situation with optimism: it will get better. So in the mean time, if it means salary-cuts, certain benefit reductions, and other cost-cutting measures have to be implemented, I believe it must be done. And reading an article in today's Gleaner, PSOJ president, Christopher Zacca, made a very important point about the lay-offs that all organizations should well note:

" 'When you look at cutting cost and becoming more productive, you don't start with jobs. Jobs can't be the first place you look. It has to be a part of an overall package that has to depend on a particular scenario in each business….I have read in the Economist recently that businesses should be cautioned against taking out too much and disseminating their organisations and reducing their strengths; because we will come out of this, and you don't want to go into a growth phase with a destroyed organisation.' "