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
Reporter's Notebook
The most compelling data, quotes, and insights from the field.
Has the balance of power finally shifted back toward employers? Not quite yet, experts say.
“The balance of power started drifting back a little bit toward employers, but broadly speaking, it’s still in the hands of workers…As long as there are unfilled openings, people still have a say in what they want, and employers have to compromise in order to fill these openings,” Rand Ghayad, head of economics and global labor markets at LinkedIn, told Vox.
Around the Table
A round-up of the most important HR headlines, studies, podcasts, and long-reads.
- Altruistic LinkedIn users are commenting on strangers’ layoff posts to boost their visibility with recruiters. New York Times
- Despite mass layoffs, tech jobs are still offering lucrative compensation. Bloomberg
- Amazon’s head of HR rejected a 30,000-signature petition opposing the company’s return-to-office plan. Insider
- Walmart will lay off hundreds of fulfillment center employees. CNBC
- The one part of Credit Suisse that UBS doesn’t want: its “rancid” culture. Financial Times
Watercooler
Everything you need to know from Fortune.
Office or else. Apple may discipline employees who fail to come to the office at least three days a week. —Jane Thier
CEO/barista. New Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan plans to rebuild trust with frontline workers by working as a barista one day a month. —Eleanor Pringle
Gen Z’s got bills. Gen Z is especially concerned about the financial implications of getting laid off, with 85% saying they couldn’t afford a month’s expenses if they lost their jobs. —Alicia Adamczyk
Happiest place on earth. Disney reached a labor agreement with unionized theme park staff that includes a minimum wage of $18 an hour. —Christopher Palmeri
This is the web version of CHRO Daily, a newsletter focusing on helping HR executives navigate the needs of the workplace. Today’s edition was curated by Paolo Confino. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox.
