As Covid-19 was declared as a pandemic, there was a complete lockdown announced in almost all the countries worldwide. Closure of non-essential businesses in the effort to stop the spread of Coronavirus had an unprecedented impact on the jobs and economy of the affected countries. Hundreds of millions of jobs were put on hold in the countries that were under full or partial lockdown measures after being hit by the pandemic.

The initial unemployment claims show that the earliest wave of job losses took place in mid-March which hit the food, entertainment, and accommodation industries. As claimed by the International Labour Organization (ILO), “the COVID-19 pandemic drastically increased global unemployment, leaving more than 25 million people out of work and slashing incomes. It is not only a global health crisis but also a major labor market and economic crisis that is having a huge impact on people.”.

Another report by ILO says that more than one in six young people have stopped working since the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic while those who remain employed have seen their working hours cut by 23 percent. Comparatively the pandemic affected the economy much more than the health of people all around the globe. 

Companies that Laid Off its Employees or Enforced a Pay Cut

Despite the government’s appeal to the companies to not let go of their employees, a number of companies laid off their employees during the pandemic. Let’s have a look at well-known companies who downsized their workforce to deal with the reduction in revenue due to the Pandemic.

Apart from these reputed names, there were many more that instead of laying off the employees announced pay cuts to deal with the situation.

• Reliance Industries announced pay cuts of up to 50% for the employees, whereas, the Chairperson Mukesh Ambani let go of his salary for the entire year.
• Oyo Rooms cut the salary of its employees by 25% for four months and also furloughed many of its employees.
• The CEO of Indian Express called the current situation absolutely unprecedented and asked its employees to take a temporary salary cut.

Reasons for Unemployment During Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic impacted several businesses across the globe regardless of the size of business. Whether the business is established or just a startup, they were forced to reconsider their operational strategies. It became a challenge to keep their financial wheels turning during the difficult times due to less revenue churn and uncertainty in the global financial environment. Below listed are some of the reasons for companies laying off employees during the Covid-19 outbreak:

• Missing Plan of Action: Most of the companies that laid off their employees had one thing missing in common – a future proof plan of action. Having a well-prepared plan of action in place does well in the long run for businesses to deal with such a crisis. The plan can be created in 3-18 months depending upon the business and time to be taken by the crisis to return back to normal.

• No Track of Expenses: It is important for businesses to keep track of expenses; both fixed and variable during these times. It enables them to get a clear picture of where the business stands and the strategies that are required at that point of time. A proper track of expense will help businesses to be prepared for these unprecedented times.
• Lack of  Revised Business Model: Businesses need to assess their business model from time to time to evaluate their demand in the market and supply accordingly. Checking it regularly will help in avoiding any financial crisis in the present as well as the future.

Running a business during the period of a pandemic is a tough task and apart from all the above pointers, businesses require to stand united, maintain trust with customers and employees, and help one another in any way they can.

Companies That are Still Hiring

Although the Coronavirus pandemic completely changed the job market and companies in some sectors, such as hospitality, tourism, and leisure, were not hiring, whereas, there were still some industries like logistics, healthcare, medicine, and some online retailers that were booming and extensively hiring to accommodate the increased demand for their services/products. Below listed are some of the companies that were mass hiring amid the pandemic.

• Instacart hired 300,000 employees
• Amazon hired 175,000 employees
• Walmart hired 150,000 employees
• CVS Health hired 50,000 employees
• Dollar General hired 50,000 employees

What are These Businesses Doing Differently?

Businesses that were least or not impacted by this wave of recession took a second look at how to position themselves in the market. Also, they took the time to improve their ongoing operations ensuring the safety of employees, customers, or anyone who would come in contact with their product/services. They understood the need to invest in new technologies and adapted to the changing climate as customers’ purchasing habits go out of the window in these uncertain times.

These companies proved that slowing down their operations cannot be an option. Businesses need to keep moving forward and invest in their customers and technology. It is imperative to understand the environment and adapt to it which enables us to not only survive through such pandemic but also to get ahead of the competition.

While talking about moving forward and adapting to the current environment, a name that comes to mind is AblySoft. With the mindset of emerging stronger and better, AblySoft believes in adapting to the changes that set it up for increased growth once everything is back open for business. With this thought in mind, AblySoft invested this time to hire new talent from the industry who could push and drive the business to change for the better.

Why AblySoft?

With a history of 14 years, AblySoft has excelled in growing brands and businesses to reach their maximum potential with the commitment and dedication of its employees. We encourage teamwork and innovation and truly believe our competitive edge is due to our highly skilled and committed workforce. Many of our employees have been working with us since the inception of AblySoft and we hope to have them all along with us on this beautiful journey.

Perks of Working With AblySoft

• Professional/Personal Development:We are committed to providing our employees with a great place to work and opportunities to develop personally and professionally.

• Work Culture: We encourage an all-inclusive workplace that drives growth, performance, success, and creativity and hire talents who can help us to expand our position as a global leader.

• Work/Life Balance: There is no late seating for employees at AblySoft so that they can easily balance their personal and professional life.

• Equal Opportunities: We provide equal opportunities to all our employees irrespective of their position and experience to build trust among them.
  
• Pro-Active Mentoring: AblySoft provides each new joinee with a mentor to train them based on their position and as per the company standards to make them a perfect fit for the company. 

If you think you can add to our success, join us and we would be more than happy to welcome you in our team.