Your Money Minute Businesses May Be Fighting Tariffs By Not Hiring 3/30/26
Mar 30, 2026
Gary Cohn, former National Economic Council director and economic commentator, breaks down how firms respond to tariff-driven cost pressures. He talks about higher input costs squeezing companies. He explains why businesses may slow hiring or adjust staffing to protect margins. He highlights recent layoffs and why the trend could continue.
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Tariffs Are Pushing Firms To Cut Labor
- Tariffs are squeezing company profits and firms are offsetting that by reducing labor costs.
- Gary D. Cohn says companies have pulled the lever of human capital, cutting hires and announcing 100,000+ layoffs in recent earnings cycles.
Human Capital Becomes The Cost-Cutting Lever
- Companies use workforce reductions as a direct tool to preserve profitability when facing higher interest, commodity, and tariff costs.
- Cohn notes this human capital lever showed up as over 100,000 announced layoffs in large companies last quarter.