[gwright]

That isn't the way a business works. There is no intrinsic value to "staff", positive or negative. The value comes from the way staff (or any other resources) is utilized. Building twice as many widgets by building and staffing a second factory could have a huge negative value if there is no demand for twice as many widgets in the market, for example.

[haimez]

Staff does have a negative intrinsic value- they are paid salaries. If (and only if) the business can deliver on some arbitrary stated goals, it’s more valuable if it can do so with fewer people on staff.

[gwright]

I was obviously referring to the net change in business value. Additional employees can be result in a net negative or a net positive return on investment depending on how they are utilized. That was what I was trying to communicate.

[asdff]

So then the solution is to not fire people, but manage them better on something more profitable. What makes you more money in this pet example you've set up: having 1 widget factory, or two factories producing different widgets that are both in demand? The latter, obviously, or else amazon would still be entirely in the business of selling books today.

[gwright]

> but manage them better on something more profitable.

Well, yeah. I mean the entire endeavor of operating a for-profit business is to find the combination of resources/effort/ideas that creates value. The problem space is enormous though and more often leads to failure than success. If you see a successful combination though, stop posting here and start your own business!