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 156 employees, how many employees did the company have a year ago?

Explanation:

Step1: Let the number of employees a year ago be $x$.

The current number of employees is $x(1 - 0.35)$ since there is a 35% reduction. So we have the equation $x(1 - 0.35)=156$.

Step2: Simplify the left - hand side of the equation.

$x\times0.65 = 156$.

Step3: Solve for $x$.

$x=\frac{156}{0.65}=240$.

Answer:

240