HR News: More Layoffs at Ford, RTO Mandate Qualms at AT&T, Less-Likely Recession, Less Money for Techies, and More

This is a weekly roundup of the latest in HR News.

Another week in HR news brings with it mixed messages about the state of the economy. On the one hand, Ford announced more layoffs, while AT&T employees are concerned about layoffs.

On the other hand, economists are suggesting that recession for which everyone has been waiting since late 2022 may never come. Still, there are also challenges to the workplace transformation underway. Apparently, men are returning to the office, and women are not in the same way, so this could mean employers find what they see as a legitimate excuse for the gender pay gap. And tech workers are saying they will take smaller salaries amid mass layoffs. Dig deeper into these headlines: 

Ford Layoffs

Ford began letting contract workers go on Friday. Now, salaried employees are waiting for news of their fate because the company said it will lay off white-collar salaried employees from the Ford Blue and Model e divisions as soon as Monday, June 26. Although Ford would not say how many people would be laid off, the Detroit Free Press reports that "a minimum of several hundred white-collar workers are targeted for cuts."

WATCH: Layoffs Debate - Balancing Business Needs with Employee Well-Being

AT&T RTO: "Disguised Staff Reduction"

AT&T is mandating 60,000 managers return to office three days per week at one of nine designated locations even though many of them live far away from any of the locations, according to the New York Post. They have the choice to either relocate or resign, but AT&T will not cover costs of moving in most instances. As a result, some are saying this is a round of layoffs in disguise. The reports suggest that this decision to relocate or resign will impact about 15% of the workforce. 

A Recession Is Less Likely

LinkedIn shared that market indicators are showing that a recession is less likely than imagined late in 2022 and into 2023. Specifically, energy prices went down despite the war in Ukraine, consumers continued making purchases despite rising interest rates, the job market remains strong, and stock and credit markets are stable. Those who viewed HR Exchange Talks - Misperceptions of Millennials and Gen Z heard it first from Remote-First Advocate Iwo Szapar, who said he did not believe a recession was coming.

The Gender Gap in RTO 

Bloomberg reports that more men are rerturning to the office than women. The share of men working at home partially or fully dropped to 28% in 2022 from 35% the year before, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Women, on the other hand, barely returned to the office with the percentage of women working remotely decreasing from 41.5% to 41%. LinkedIn suggests that the reason is women are taking on more responsibilities for housework and child care. Of course, this news has many wondering what this means for women gaining leadership roles and narrowing the gender pay gap. 

WATCH: HR Exchange Talks - Women at Work 2023

Tech Workers Say They Would Agree to Less Pay

The Great Resignation meant that workers celebrated gains in wages. But tech employees had already been used to earning, sometimes in the six figures. However, this week many reported on a Blind survey in which tech workers said they would accept equal or lower pay in this uncertain economy following mass layoffs in the tech sector, according to Yahoo! Finance. What will this mean for the salaries of tech workers moving forward? 

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