(15 marks) SureCash, a mobile financial platform of ProgotiSystems Ltd, recently terminated 108 of its permanent employeesamid the unprecedented uncertainty the country is facing now due tothe Covid-19 pandemic. Because of this pandemic, overall economicslowdowns have turned the spotlight on layoffs in FinTech industry.Some companies are still doing well where others are getting hitreally hard. The economic slowdown has resulted in thousands oflayoffs in the tech sectors as this economic situation forces theindustry to slash marketing and capital spending. In this regard,on April 9, some of the employees of SureCash suddenly receivedphone calls from the company's human resources department andlearned that their services were no longer required, said sources.The company also did not inform the terminated employees when theywould get their salaries and other payments as per the servicerule. An area manager of SureCash, who has been sacked, told TheBusiness Standard, "It was very much unexpected for me to hear thatI have no job in this tough situation amid the Corona virusoutbreak. “I even fear whether I will get paid for this month ornot. How I will survive with my family in this situation?" Anothersacked employee of SureCash said, "We are living under uncertaintyafter being terminated from our jobs. Our employer is notconfirming when they will pay our salaries”. SureCash startedcommercial operations in 2015. It is an open payment network inpartnership with four local banks, including one of the largeststate-owned banks and more than 1,000 payment partners. So far,SureCash has invested Tk200 crore in this market. More than onecrore mobile financial services (MFS) accounts of Rupali Bank havebeen managed by SureCash. Bangladesh Commercial Bank, Jamuna Bankand First Security Islami Bank are also operating MFS accountsjointly with SureCash. Recently, National Commerce and Credit (NCC)Bank ended its partnership with SureCash. In this pandemic period,the HR has to play a keen role in handling the layoff situationeffectively and provide maximum confidence to employees and therebyextend stability to the industry. It is imperative that HR needs tobe the strategic partner to keep positive company image inindustry. Based on the above scenario, answer the followingquestions:
(a) Pandemic will be a short-term effect. If the organizationmoves ahead with the decision to layoff, it will create a big skillgaps in the workforce. Being an HR manager, what might be thestrategic interventions in handling the layoff situationeffectively?
(b) “Management approach to layoffs will have negative impacts onthe motivation and morale of retained employees”- How to tackle theissue being an HR manager of SureCash.
Please answer the question according to Human ResourceManagement