Some companies don't want more workers — they want better ones

• Companies are replacing lower-performing workers with stronger talent to boost performance.
• It’s one way businesses are optimizing their workforces as hiring budgets tighten.
• The trend is playing out from early-career roles to the C-suite.

Workers are feeling the pressure

“I was shocked to be affected,” said Fujigaki, who’s in his 40s and lives in Toronto. “Based on our performance metrics, my understanding was that I was doing well.”

After initially delaying his job search to focus on a personal project, Fujigaki said he set out to land a higher-paying role than his previous position, which paid about $114,000 a year. But the market proved far more challenging than he expected.

During the early stages of his search, Fujigaki said he took comfort from his belief that the layoff had little to do with his individual performance.

“Layoffs are business decisions made by people who don’t even know your name or situation,” he said.