The largest companies in the U.S. are severing worker relationships

There’s a growing belief that having too many employees will slow a company down—and that anyone still on the payroll could be working harder.

Related workplace toxcities

Excerpt (from 1st link above): "Corporate America is convinced: Fewer employees means faster growth.

U.S. public companies have reduced their white-collar workforces by a collective 3.5% over the past three years, according to employment data-provider Live Data Technologies. Over the past decade, one in five companies in the S&P 500 have shrunk. 

The cuts go beyond typical cost-trimming and speak to a broader shift in philosophy. Adding talent, once a sign of surging sales and confidence in the future, now means leaders must be doing something wrong. 

New technologies like generative artificial intelligence are allowing companies to do more with less. But there’s more to this movement. From Amazon AMZN -1.33%decrease; red down pointing triangle in Seattle to Bank of America in Charlotte, N.C., and at companies big and small everywhere in between, there’s a growing belief that having too many employees is itself an impediment.

The message from many bosses: Anyone still on the payroll could be working harder.