A major car manufacturer announced it would lay of 17000 employees worldwide. This is 20 percent of its work force.

Question

Help me solve this. Find the size of the work force before layoffs

Answer 1

we are answering the following question: 20% (0.2) of what number equals 17,000?

 

0.2 * X = 17,000 

 

solving for X,

 

X = 17,000 / 0.2 

 

X = 85,000 people in the workforce prior to the layoffs

 

double check: 85,000*0.2 = 17,000 

 

works!