The Wall Street Journal recently published further anecdotal evidence of the mixed messages that companies are receiving … and giving … about the expected upturn.
While some 25% of companies reportedly expect more layoffs, about the same percentage think further layoffs are unlikely.  Many companies continue to look to salary reductions and furloughs to “share the pain but keep the gain”, i.e., keep great employees that they’ll desperately need when the economy turns around.
It’s a tricky proposition for sure but I’m leaning toward doing everything possible to keep your great team intact. It’s going to be a war to hire talent when a turnaround begins in earnest and with the costs of new hires, training and culture adjustment issues, keeping people is almost always better than losing them.