CLEVELAND — In Akron, 90 workers are now out of a job at Ohio-based Goodyear.
The manufacturing company recently announced it will cut 500 jobs worldwide in response to inflation.
The company is one of the first, among many expected, to hand out pink slips to workers in 2023.
In fact, according to a recent survey by Resume Builder, one in three companies are expected to lay off 30% or more of their workforce in 2023.
“I think we see the economic uncertainty and many people are saying we’re in a recession or near a recession,” said Amy Porterfield, a financial expert of author of the book “Two Weeks Notice.” “This is very normal for the time we’re in.”
Porterfield said the best plan of action for folks to take is to start planning today.
“You’ve got to build a runway,” she said. “You’re going to look at your finances and really get clear on how much money you really need.”
She said people might need to get a little scrappy when trying to save money for the future. If you find you really can’t cut back a whole ton on spending, Porterfield suggests you try to add more money to the pot by taking on another job.
“Start your side hustle at night, in the mornings, on weekends, so you can bring in an additional stream of revenue so that if you were to be laid off you already have something in motion,” Porterfield said.
Having a plan is great, but what happens if you’re laid off tomorrow or even next week? Porterfield said don’t panic and instead learn from the experience.
“You might need to take a new job to pay the bills, but that’s when you say ‘I’m never going to let this happen to me again. I’m absolutely going to put a plan into place,’ ” she said.
If you have a certain skill set, Porterfield said you could also try to go the freelance route in the event you’re laid off.
“Let’s say your job is an accountant and you’re really good at doing what you do and you were laid off. You can start doing a freelance situation where you start taking clients from your home and just get that in motion,” said Porterfield. “Getting scrappy and getting creative in a time when you were forced to make something happen, it could be the biggest blessing in disguise.”
