Coronavirus: Famed Silicon Valley VC firm tells companies to think about cutting jobs [Mercury News]
BY Knight Ridder/Tribune
— 8:48 PM ET 03/05/2020

Mar. 5--The legendary Silicon Valley venture capital firm that has funded Apple, Google ( GOOG



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), Cisco ( CSCO



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), 23andMe and a host of other successful companies has just offered some coronavirus advice to the corporate leaders it works with.
In a "Dear Founders & CEOs" blog post that refers to the virus as "The Black Swan of 2020," Sequoia Capital of Menlo Park points to a cascade of potential financial problems arising out of the COVID-19 outbreak, from a sputtering economy to softening private investment and reduced sales.
"In downturns, revenue and cash levels always fall faster than expenses," the Medium post says.
Under "Headcount," the Sand Hill Road VC company notes the possibility of financial stress on firms and offers the following advice: "This might be a time to evaluate critically whether you can do more with less and raise productivity."
Sequoia, in the post, claims that "nobody ever regrets making fast and decisive adjustments to changing circumstances."
The post, signed "Team Sequoia," goes on to invoke Charles Darwin.
"In some ways, business mirrors biology," the post says. "As Darwin surmised, those who survive 'are not the strongest or the most intelligent, but the most adaptable to change.'"
Toward the end of the post, Team Sequoia again addresses the CEOs and founders in their role as employers. "Your employees are all aware of COVID-19 and are wondering how you will react and what it means for them," the post says.
Workers who read Sequoia's post are bound to wonder even more.