In yesterday's post, I shared an update on salary increase budgets from a newly released Watson Wyatt study The Effect of the Economic Crisis on HR Programs. Today, additional key findings and data from that study in areas beyond salary increases.
Key Findings:
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More than half of companies (52 percent) have already made layoffs, up from 39 percent two months ago. However, the number of companies planning layoffs has fallen ten percentage points from 23 percent to 13 percent.
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Forty-two percent of companies have already put salary freezes into place, an increase from only 13 percent two months ago.
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Short-term incentive funding has not changed substantially since October – from an average of 86 percent funded last year, projected STI funding for this year stands at 71 percent.
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Twelve percent of respondents (up from 3 percent in December) have lowered their company 401(k) or 403(b) match.
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Since the economic crisis hit, 79 percent of respondents have noticed 401(k) or 403(b) participants changing their investment mix to move out of equities (up 20 percentage points from 59 percent in December).
Other data, compared across the October-December-February timeline on which this research has been repeated, is shown in the following table. It is worth noting again (as I did yesterday) that this comes from a sample of 245 large U.S. companies - so frame your conclusions accordingly.
The statistic I'd like to see is how many employers have decided not to pay severance pay promised in letters given to employees on the day of the lay-off.
Posted by: Georgette | March 03, 2009 at 11:04 AM
And how much that costs them later in legal fees, UC charges and negative publicity.
Posted by: E James (Jim) Brennan | March 04, 2009 at 12:57 PM
Beyond the now infamous Microsoft case, I don't know of any - but I imagine they're out there... Unfortunately.
Posted by: Ann Bares | March 05, 2009 at 07:09 AM