Catherwood LibraryILR School

The retailers who engaged in a fervor of hiring over the last year and a half of increased spending from bored consumers needing distraction during the pandemic are now starting to cool their recruitment enthusiasm as consumers return to work, gyms and other forms of entertainment. The high costs of inflation and the worries over a possible economic slowdown due to the federal bank raising rates has led consumers to decreased spending, and as a result, companies such as Peleton and Netflix have had to lay off the many employees they hired during the pandemic due to decreased business. Other employers such as Walmart, Amazon, and Fedex have stated that they over-hired and have too many employees, and in some cases are letting them go via attrition, or have decreased recruitment. Other signs of slowing recruitment include getting rid of sign-on bonuses and relaxed job requirements. Smaller businesses, however, are still trying to return to normalcy, not just with supplies on hand but number of employees, as their current workers are feeling burned out.