Everyday seems to bring news of another tech job shedding. Could this turbulence portend an economic storm? Though laying off employees may seem like the easy solution to financial woes, studies show that doing so has serious repercussions. According to studies conducted on companies that cut staff have experienced lower productivity and morale. 1. Decreased Consumer Spending Consumer spending is an integral component of a local economy. Consumers spend money on goods and services they want or need, such as food, clothes and energy; when consumers spend less, their local economy may experience a slowdown; consumer spending also affects prices of goods and services which has an effect on other parts of the economy as a whole. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) annually releases consumer spending statistics, known as personal consumption expenditures (PCE). Economists as well as business owners and investors closely follow this data for use in forecasting the economy and making decisions regarding investments or hirings; consumer spending data also allows businesses to adapt quickly to changes in customer habits. As individuals experience income losses as a result of being laid off, their spending habits may change in order to reduce expenditures and maintain income levels. While reduced consumer spending is likely an indicator of an unstable economic system or even foreshadow a deep recession. Economists use consumer spending, the cornerstone of any national economy, as an indicator of its strength. Additionally, they evaluate other indicators, such as new job creation and unemployment rate statistics. Consumers typically respond to news of high unemployment by cutting spending, which slows the economy. To mitigate what could otherwise become an even greater crisis, many companies have attempted to counter it by hiring more quickly and increasing employee benefits; these efforts have had mixed results; some may experience losses while others enjoy increased consumer spending. COVID-19 aside, economic conditions for most Americans have been difficult, with several sectors experiencing severe contraction. Health spending has experienced dramatic decreases as people postpone or skip visits to medical professionals while recreation spending is down significantly. The BEA provides monthly reports on consumer spending data. They break it down into various categories - durable items, like cars, furniture and equipment, nondurables such as clothing and shoes as well as services like transportation or insurance are covered; as is money spent across different parts of the country on such goods and services. Additionally, BEA records how much people spent overall. 2. Decreased Production Companies often turn to staff reduction as a quick solution for financial difficulties, industry changes, mergers and acquisitions or the fear of economic collapse. Unfortunately, however, this decision could have unintended repercussions for employees laid off and on local economies more broadly. Layoffs will lower company morale as those left behind may need to work harder than their coworkers who were let go, leading to workplace burnout and reduced productivity. According to research by Magnus Sverke, Johnny Hellgren and Katharina Naswall of the University of Canterbury, workers exposed to mass layoffs experience 41% decreases in job satisfaction, 36% reduction in organizational commitment and 20% drop in performance. Reduced production will also drive up prices, as businesses must raise prices to cover costs. This may result in stagflation - an inflationary period combined with stagnant production - which businesses find very challenging to deal with, as it will likely have adverse effects on consumer spending and reduce economic growth. Layoffs will negatively impact local economies by contributing to an increase in unemployment. When people who are laid off are unable to find new work opportunities, this can have lasting repercussions for both income and quality of life; those unemployed often struggle with keeping up with bills and affording daily necessities, which may cause numerous health complications. Many Americans mistakenly believe that manufacturing production in the US has decreased, due to misinformation. In reality, however, manufacturing output has in fact seen steady increases since 1987 - although older people tend to believe this in comparison with younger adults. It should also be noted that despite this increased output from American companies there has still been an increase in job cuts as cost-cutting measures must still be implemented in order to remain competitive in their markets. 3. Increased Crime Crime's impact on an economy extends well beyond human costs; crime-related spending accounts for a major share of municipal finances ranging from law enforcement and court and prison costs, through law enforcement to costs associated with court and prison systems, while economic productivity suffers (lost wages for victims, decreased tourist visits, retail sales decline). Furthermore, higher crime levels often correlate to lower credit ratings since higher crime is often indicative of weaker populations (Johnson Kioko Hildreth 2012 and Moldogaziev and Guzman 2015). Even though crime rates in most cities have been declining for years, their levels still generate fear among residents. This fear of crime has given rise to political rhetoric that calls for returning to policies that expanded mass incarceration and targeted Black Americans more heavily in the 1990s, including mandatory minimum sentences, three strike laws, zero tolerance policing policies and military-grade weapons. Local governments must strike a careful balance between encouraging economic dynamism and protecting workers from long-term unemployment, mitigating its negative effects on communities, and protecting individuals affected by mass layoffs - an especially challenging feat in times of mass unemployment. COVID-19 pandemic has only compounded this problem by making people afraid to go outside, leading to reduced retail and restaurant sales and economic instability that leads to greater crime. Robberies, murders and other forms of violent offense have an enormous and immediate effect on individuals, their families, and communities alike. Gang-related violence often escalates into larger social problems like discord, civil unrest and even war. Reducing crime is often at the forefront of city leaders' minds as it has direct ramifications on citizens' lives. To make meaningful progress, city leaders should strive to understand why crime has increased and find solutions based on evidence rather than scare tactics designed to gain votes. They should prioritize tangible reductions in both homicide and non-fatal shooting rates in order to bolster community security while simultaneously decreasing public service expenses and ultimately strengthening creditworthiness of their cities. 4. Increased Homelessness Mass layoffs have many adverse economic effects, as well as increasing rates of homelessness. People displaced from their jobs may not be able to pay rent or cover other necessities when unemployed for extended periods. Homelessness also creates other difficulties for its victims such as health concerns and reduced social support systems. Homelessness can be caused by various factors, such as poverty, limited housing options, mental illness, addictions and family breakdown. Each factor may impact its length, frequency or type; in many instances several of them occur simultaneously and contribute to homelessness. Utilizing machine learning and data analytics, we can develop a predictive model to accurately anticipate when someone will become homeless. This tool can serve as a resource for social policymakers to better understand the root causes of homelessness and develop policies to alleviate its prevalence. To develop our model, we began by first creating a virtual common-sense map of all of the key concepts related to homelessness. From here, we used directed edges to connect each concept to another in turn and assigned weights which reflect each antecedent concept's impact on its respective subsequent concept. Once complete, we ran the model in order to ensure its successful operation. We found that when activated at levels likely to occur in real-life scenarios, our model accurately predicted when an individual would become homeless. This included addiction, family breakdown and government assistance - factors known to preceed homelessness in many instances. Increased homelessness has a direct negative effect on the economy by leading to medical issues and higher crime rates as well as necessitating additional social services and shelters, all of which cost money - this has a knock-on effect that reduces productivity and thus, overall economic growth.