Number of companies announce layoffs; Local economist says number of factors involved

There are a number of corporate layoffs we have seen in the past few weeks, including 900 employees at Speedway headquarters in Enon.

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We spoke with a local financial analyst and that person told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell that one of the reasons is a cool down in the housing markets.

There are a number of other factors and a lot of different job fields are feeling the impact, especially after the economy shrunk last quarter and interest rates increased.

“The reason for that is the inflation,” said Fall Ainia, Financial Analyst of James Investments in Beavercreek. “That’s basically the reason for it.”

Ainia says anytime interest rates are increased, you are going to slow down the sale of houses, which can create a domino.

“For that reason you see a slowdown, the housing market is big because it affects a lot of other sectors,” Ainia told Campbell.

Companies are seeing revenue down because consumer demand is down and also see profits dropping because their supply costs are going up, according to Ainia. So they look to cut their biggest costs, the labor market or workers.

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Campbell says several companies including Ford, Tesla, Re/Max, Compass and Redfin have also announced layoffs.

While it is not a trend anyone wants to see, Ainia says there is one small silver lining due to low unemployment numbers.

“Given the tight market,” he said, “people that are laid off are likely to find jobs without a problem.”

New job workers find that new job is not the one wanted, the old one they were vote from was their goal. Fear of layoffs is also something that can slow down housing sales even more.