Coronavirus-led layoffs | People + Work Connect, a platform to connect laid off employees with companies

At a time when retrenchments are becoming a norm as enterprises are bracing to tackle novel coronavirus and cut costs, Accenture, along with multinationals, has built a platform to connect companies that are laying off employees and the ones who are in need of workers.

The analytics-driven platform, People + Work Connect, was designed by Chief Human Resources Officers from Accenture, Lincoln Financial Group, ServiceNow and Verizon, according to a press statement.

There is no cost for employers to join and participate, the statement added.

The platform, which is global and cross-industry, gives real time visibility about which companies need people and where. For collecting the information, it uses non-confidential and aggregated workforce information by categories such as location and experience, the statement said.

The companies that are participating in the initiative include ADM, Baxter, Blue Apron, Cargill, Frito-Lay, Lincoln Financial Group, Marriott, Mondelēz International, Nordstrom, ServiceNow, Walmart and Zenefits. More than 250 companies are expected to join over the next week, and the platform will soon add public sector jobs, the statement added.

Since the time of COVID-19 outbreak, companies have either furloughed or laid off their workers, especially in retail and aviation. According to reports, jobs losses could be in the range of 47 million in the US. In the IT, close to 1.5 lakh work is likely to be laid off and similar retrenchment is expected in the business process outsourcing as well.