Trying to deduce the number of Podiatrists that are going to lose their jobs due to COVID or the Coronavirus is very difficult. There is no national organization that is doing any tracking of how Podiatrists are struggling and how they are being laid off. All we can do is make educated guesses based on the numbers available from other organizations.
So here is a sampling. The WSJ estimates that if the shutdown continues into June there will be the loss of 1.5 million ambulatory health care jobs:
AAFP American Association has stated that 30% of their practices may close and never reopen, while 70% of their practices will have to furlough doctors and lay some off.
According to last estimates there are 15,000 Podiatrists, I think a conservative estimate. If the shutdown lasts until June there would be 7,500 Podiatrists laid off or furloughed. That is about 50% of Podiatrists in this country. However, if anyone went as high as 10,000 Podiatrists being laid off due to COVID there would be no reason to disagree with them.