If the company had 1,000 employees and laid off 20%, they laid off 200 people and kept 800.
But increasing 800 by 20% means they hired 160 people.
800 + 160 does not equal 1,000.
But increasing 800 by 20% means they hired 160 people.
800 + 160 does not equal 1,000.
To understand why, let's break it down step by step:
1. Let's say the company initially had 100 employees.
2. Laying off 20% of the workforce means reducing the number of employees by (20/100) x 100 = 20 employees.
3. After the layoff, the company would have 100 - 20 = 80 employees.
4. Now, if they increase the workforce by 20%, they would be adding (20/100) x 80 = 16 employees.
5. The total number of employees after the increase would be 80 + 16 = 96 employees.
Therefore, after the layoff and subsequent increase, the company doesn't have the same number of employees as before. Instead, they have 96 employees, which is 4 employees fewer than the initial count.
So, the flaw in the company's argument is that they mistakenly assumed that increasing the workforce by the same percentage as the layoff percentage would result in the same number of employees as before. However, due to the mathematical nature of percentages, this assumption is incorrect.