AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT BLACKLINE SYSTEMS

Woodland Hills, Los Angeles-based BlackLine Systems, a designer of cloud-based accounting services designed to automate and control financial closing processes, has announced senior management changes and the implementation of a restructuring and cost containment plan that eliminated 9%/ of the company's workforce. “A restructuring plan that is designed to support the Company’s growth, scale, and profitability objectives.”

The plan impacted 166 employees, including 95 headquarters employees and 21 employees located in Pleasanton, California.

According to co-CEO Owen Ryan, “We are working to drive greater accountability and alignment across our partners and clearly defining what we expect from them and what they can expect from BlackLine in return. Importantly, we are accelerating the transition of partners from enablement to commercialization. … As we move forward, we’re trying to make sure that we have the right partners with the right incentives to drive our mutual success.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT INNOVATION REFUNDS

West Des Moines, Iowa-based Innovation Refunds, a service to assist companies in filing for the government's Employee Retention Credit and tax refunds in return for a percentage of the refund, has announced the layoff of 40% of its workforce.

The layoff will impact 155 employees.

The decision was driven by the Internal Revenue Service's moratorium on new ERC filings due to massive fraud within the system. The moratorium will last until December 31, 2023, and the pause will give the IRS time to strengthen its systems and procedures.

According to IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel, "The IRS is increasingly alarmed about honest small business owners being scammed by unscrupulous actors, and we could no longer tolerate growing evidence of questionable claims pouring in. The further we get from the pandemic, the further we see the good intentions of this important program abused. The continued aggressive marketing of these schemes is harming well-meaning businesses and delaying the payment of legitimate claims, which makes it harder to run the rest of the tax system. This harms all taxpayers, not just ERC applicants."

"For those people being pressured by promoters to apply for the Employee Retention Credit, I urge them to immediately pause and review their situation while we look to add new protections and safeguards to stop bad claims from ever coming in. In the meantime, businesses should seek out a trusted tax professional who actually understands the complex ERC rules, not a promoter or marketer hustling to get a hefty contingency fee. Businesses that receive ERC payments improperly face the daunting prospect of paying those back, so we urge the utmost caution. The moratorium will help protect taxpayers by adding a new safety net onto this program to focus on fraudulent claims and scammers taking advantage of honest taxpayers."

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT THE FEDERAL RESERVE

Washington, D.C.-based Federal Reserve, a privately-owned corporation with a quasi-government charter to act as the United States Central Bank, has announced a reduction in force affecting just over 1% of the Federal Reserve's workforce.

Approximately 300 employees will be impacted, primarily affecting technology positions at the central bank’s 12 regional reserve banks.

The decision appears to be driven by the implementation of cloud-based computer software, and positions connected to the payment processing systems which are being consolidated as paper check volumes decline in favor of electronic transactions.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?