Question

A company has been forced to reduce its number of employees. today the company has 35% fewer employees than it did a year ago. if there are currently 143 employees, how many employees did the company have a year ago?"

Answer 1

The company originally had 220 employees before reducing the workforce by 35%. After the reduction, the company has 143 employees, indicating that 143 represents 65% of the original number of employees.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the original number of employees before the reduction, we need to solve for the total count before the company experienced the 35% decrease. If the current number of employees is 143, which represents 65% of the original number (100% - 35%), we can set up a proportion to find the original number (the 100%).

Let the original number of employees be represented by x. The equation to solve for x is:

65% of x = 143

To solve for x, we can convert 65% to a decimal, which is 0.65, and rewrite the equation as:

0.65x = 143

To find x, divide both sides of the equation by 0.65:

x = 143 / 0.65

Calculate the division to find x:

x = 220

So, the company had 220 employees a year ago before reducing the number of employees by 35%.