Layoffs are hitting far beyond the tech sector. Bay Area businesses that employ developmentally and intellectually disabled adults have laid off dozens of employees over the last year. J. Lohr is one of 90 Bay Area businesses that employs workers recruited through Hope Services, a community nonpr ofit supporting people with a range of disabilities, including physical disabilities, autism, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy. In the last year, the nonprofit has seen a significant downturn in employment opportunities for its clients. Of the 250 workers it employed last year, 20% have lost their jobs. Many of them worked as janitors, in grocery stores, retailers, and warehouses, doing backroom stocking, janitorial work, and front-facing customer service. “Just like any job, layoffs are hard, but it’s especially hard when there’s so much love and passion and purpose that our clients bring to their employment,” Hope Services interim CEO Aila Malik said. A range of economic factors hitting employers and the Bay Area economy are driving the cuts. At the end of last year, the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which provided up to $9,600 to employers with inclusive hiring, expired. “That incentivizes employers to be more inclusive in their hiring, and we don’t have a state equivalent at the moment,” Malik said. ...read more read less