Most organizations have reduced workforce costs and many plan to take still more steps in the next 3 months (May through July 2020)

In the early months of COVID-19, most organizations (66 percent) immediately restricted hiring to critical roles. Many organizations took other actions to reduce workforce costs, such as freezing all hiring, reducing hours, deferring compensation, or implementing furloughs. At the other end of the spectrum, 13 percent of organizations in our study increased hiring during the pandemic, likely in essential businesses. Whatever an individual organization’s circumstances, reopening doesn’t mean “going back to pre-COVID-19.” In the next three months (May to July 2020), the most common expected actions are to require employees to take PTO or vacation time, defer pay, and implement furloughs. Few respondents indicated that they expect to implement furloughs without benefits or reduce 401(k) contributions. However, 16 percent of respondents expect permanent layoffs to come in the next three months, and 9 percent expect a major restructuring. 

For more HC COVID-19 survey results, see From Immediate Responses to Planning for the Reimagined Workplace: Human Capital Responses to COVID-19

For more information about cost-reduction actions during COVID-19, see Human Capital Management during COVID-19: Finding Innovative Alternatives to Layoffs

For more information about layoffs, see Human Capital Management during COVID-19: Conducting Compassionate Layoffs