The hiring paradox: Employers enacting layoffs are still seeking fresh talent
Good morning!
Don’t let the layoffs fool you; many companies that have made significant staffing cuts are still hiring, but this time, they're focused on high-growth, in-demand roles. It’s a move that reflects the post-pandemic shift toward more intentional hiring. Three companies, in particular, are prime examples of the latest talent trend: SAP, Intuit, and Amazon.
My colleague Paige McGlauflin offers a case study in her latest piece for Fortune about SAP’s dizzying plan to cut 3,000 roles while simultaneously maintaining ambitions to fill over 1,000 vacant positions in core areas like sustainability, supply chain, and the cloud.
SAP's leadership isn't shy to say that they're looking outside the organization for fresh talent to support these goals. It’s a journey that requires the right mix of people and thinking strategically about which positions to fill, locations to recruit from, and the skills needed, Sabine Bendiek, SAP’s chief people and operating officer, told McGlauflin.
SAP recently created a function solely focused on workforce planning to align talent and business strategies. The employer also hopes to capture the attention of young and early career talent in its new push for talent—employees who can bring fresh, diverse perspectives and knowledge in areas where current employees lack deep expertise, writes McGlauflin.
SAP isn’t alone in its talent acquisition refocus post-layoffs. In June 2020, Intuit laid off over 715 employees while announcing the addition of over 700 roles to help it progress on its A.I. ambitions.
Amazon has also notably kept a host of job postings on its career site in high-priority areas. Though the company announced last week that it plans to lay off another 9,000 employees, CEO Andy Jassy said Amazon would continue investing in certain divisions.
“The overriding tenet of our annual planning this year was to be leaner while doing so in a way that enables us to still invest robustly in the key long-term customer experiences that we believe can meaningfully improve customers’ lives and Amazon as a whole,” he wrote in a note to employees. The retail giant currently has over 4,500 open roles listed on its site.
Amber Burton
amber.burton@fortune.com
@amberbburton
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
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