Abstract
Employee downsizing is a term used widely to describe processes that result in the elimination of jobs from an organization and that are often accompanied by the dismissal of the job incumbents. A typical definition is ‘a planned set of organizational policies and practices aimed at workforce reduction with the goal of improving firm performance’ (Datta et al. 2010: 282). Downsizing is often treated as synonymous with terms such as redundancy or layoff but, while frequently including those processes, it can be achieved through a wide variety of alternative or accompanying restructuring activities including outsourcing, redeployment, natural wastage, recruitment freezes, short-time working, sabbaticals and pay freezes or cuts (CIPD 2015).
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Ashman, I. (2016). Downsizing: Managing Redundancy and Restructuring. In: Saundry, R., Latreille, P., Ashman, I. (eds) Reframing Resolution. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51560-5_8
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