>>21143367it really depends on the ratio within the company, and type of company
i'm a plant controller (accountant) and by headcount, we're about 90% shopfloor, 10% office, and that's a pretty lean on the office side of things. i'd say we have maybe 2 office workers who could go without too much impact, but they're also the two lowest paid office workers
if there's a downturn in the economy and our orders drop enough over a prolonged period of time, we'd probably go from 3 shifts down to 2 shifts, increasing the ratio of office workers
if orders stayed high, but costs were too high, and office functions could be streamlined, the ratio of office workers may dip
the other thing to keep in mind is that your 40-80k midwit office worker (in an average CoL area) probably doesn't have any responsibilities beyond what is defined, whereas the people making 100+k may not do more work, but they have way more responsibility for making sure things don't go wrong, and answering for them if they do. i.e. if my cost accountant messes something up and i don't catch it, but submit it at month end, i'm the one who will be answering for it.
