Tyler Search Consultants

The economic equivalent of Hurricane Katrina and Chernobyl hit the financial community in 2008. Unbridled panic and fear will continue to rule work force decisions until mid-2009. Throughout Fortune 2000 firms, midsize companies and every small business, downsizing and attrition is the mantra. Plans for new hires will be put on hold until President-elect Obama’s economic stimulus efforts yield results. While nationwide unemployment will hover around double digits, some areas of the supply chain job-line will remain status quo. Others will take a direct hit. The employment market will be especially weak in the logistics, transportation, warehousing and distribution area. Supply-chain forecasting/planning and procurement opportunities will do better, but will seek out star talent with same commodity expertise. Demand for global trade compliance professionals will still be greater than the supply of experienced talent as a new administration struggles with campaign promises over trade agreements and they issue confusing regulations and trade policy the corporations must navigate. Baby Boomers, the demographic hardest hit by layoffs, will mobilize with the same passion since their youthful antiwar protest days as their ranks are decimated in corporate America. This graying segment of the work force will march on Washington and state capitals as they continue to struggle with wrecked retirement plans and tax problems resulting from tapping their 401(k) plans early. They will lobby for tax relief, mortgage assistance and forgiveness from the banks that received TARP tax dollars, increased and extended unemployment benefits and worker-retraining programs. Boomer layoffs will actually improve retention levels for younger employees. Generation X & Y employees will see this culling of Boomer employees as opportunities for them to move into internal roles and levels that seemed unattainable as recently as early 2008. Companies will struggle with age-discrimination lawsuits. Many class-action lawsuits will occur in the larger firms with massive layoffs despite carefully scripted severance agreements and packages. While demand for star talent is always competitive regardless of a boom or bust market, fallout continues to be felt in the supply-chain and logistics industry. Relocations and sign-on bonuses are less frequent but will continue to occur as companies refine their selection process.