MINIMIZING EMPLOYEE LAYOFFS WHILE DOWNSIZING - EMPLOYER PRACTICES THAT WORK

Notes that sizable workforce reductions have been commonplace in the U S economy in the 1980s and 1990s. However, some employers have resiste d the temptation to reduce costs through massive layoffs, believing th at it is more advantageous to retain their employees than to terminate them. These employers have managed to minimize or even prevent layoff s by using a variety of strategies. Describes some widely used strateg ies and provides examples of companies that have implemented them succ essfully.