U.S. Job Losses to Mount With Small Firms Running on Fumes
- Some 21% of small businesses plan to or have dismissed workers
- ‘We’ll start cutting past the fat and to the bone,’ a CEO says
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The clock is ticking for Bonnie Morales and the acclaimed restaurant she opened a few years ago in Portland, Oregon: She’s among thousands of U.S. small-business owners who are considering layoffs in coming months as they plow through government aid.
One-fifth of small companies are planning to dismiss workers or have already done so after using up their federal Paycheck Protection Program loans, and nearly half of firms said they will need additional aid over the next year, according to a National Federation of Independent Business survey. Another poll led by Cornell University showed about one in four workers hired back thanks to PPP were told by their employer they may be fired again.