![Open Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextgreen.png)
![Restricted Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextred.png)
![Open Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextgreen.png)
![Open Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltext_open_medium.gif)
![Restricted Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextred.png)
![Restricted Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltext_restricted_medium.gif)
New Developments in Reduction-in-force
Subscribe/Renew Journal
After nearly three decades of corporate restructurings and reorganizations, the modern organization has continued to resort to reductions-in-force (RIF) strategies. This article presents an overview and a brief historical analysis of some of the most popular RIF concepts that have been adopted by firms and governmental agencies on a global scale since the late 1970s. The review found that most RIF tools have their ischolar_main in the core-periphery model. While some of the more traditional RIF strategies have remained popular, the paper showcased two contemporary practices; the traditional (nonselective) layoffs and stealth layoffs. A discussion of modern-day restructuring and RIF practices was deemed timely given the high levels of layoffs currently occurring in the global automotive, retail, and finance-related industries. Finally, a particular focus is placed on presenting practical implications of the conduct of RIF for the firm, the managers, and the individual employees.
Keywords
Reduction-in-force (RIF), Layoff, Strategy, Restructuring, Typology
User
Information
- Alkhafaji, A. (2001), Corporate Transformation and Restructuring: A Strategic Approach, Quorum Books, Westport, CT.
- Appelbaum, S. H., Delage, C., Labibb, N. and Gault, G. (1997), The Survivor Syndrome: Aftermath of Downsizing, Career Development International, 2(6).
- Atkinson, J. (1984), Manpower Strategies for Flexible Organizations, Personnel Management, 16(8): 28-31.
- Benders, J. and van Bijsterveld, M. (2000), Leaning on Lean: The Reception of a Management Fashion in Germany, New Technology, Work and Employment, 15(1): 50-64.
- Cameron, K. S. (1994), Strategies for Successful Organizational Downsizing, Human Resource Management, 33(2): 189-211.
- Carbery, R. and Garavan, T. N. (2005), Organisational Restructuring and Downsizing: Issues Related to Learning, Training and Employability of Survivors, Journal of European Industrial Training, 29(6): 488-522.
- Cascio, W. F. (1993), Downsizing: What Do We Know? What Have We Learned? Academy of Management Executive, 7(1): 95-104.
- Cascio, W. F. (2002), Responsible Restructuring, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., San Francisco, CA.
- Cascio, W. F. (2003), Responsible Restructuring: Seeing Employees as Assets, not Costs, Ivey Business Journal Online, November 2003.
- Chadwick, C., Hunter, L. and Walston, S. (2004), Effects of Downsizing Practices on the Performance of Hospitals, Strategic Management Journal, 25(5): 405-420.
- Cravotta, R. and Kleiner, B. H. (2001), New Developments Concerning Reductions in Force, Management Research News, 24(3/4): 90-93.
- Crosman, P. (2006), Stealth Layoffs and Reputation Monitoring, Intelligent Enterprise. Downloaded on November 10, 2006, from http://www.intelligententerprise.com/blog/archives/2006/11/stealth_layoffs.html.
- Davenport, T. (1992), Process Innovation: Reengineering Work through Information Technology, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.
- Deffree, S. (2007), Motorola Layoffs Reach 10,000, EDN Electronic News. Downloaded on April 4, 2007, from http://www.edn.com/article/CA6547845.html.
- De Meuse, K., Bermann, T., Vanderheiden, P. and Roraff, C. (2004), New evidence regarding organizational downsizing and a finn's financial performance: A long-term analysis, Journal of Management Issues, 16 (2), 155-177.
- Dolan, S., Belout, A. and Balkin, D. B. (2000), Downsizing without Downgrading: Learning How Firms Manage Their Survivors, International Journal of Manpower, 21(1): 34-46.
- Drew, S. (1994), Downsizing to Improve Strategic Position, MCB Management Decision, 32: 1.
- Elstein, A. (2008), Research: 22,000 Jobs Cut on Wall Street, with More to Come, Crain's New York Business, Workforce Management. Downloaded on June 2, 2008, from http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/25/56/87.html.
- Fineman, M. (1999), Why Diversity Professionals Should Care about Work/Life Balance, Mosaics, 5(6): 6-7.
- Gandolfi, F. (2006), Corporate Downsizing Demystified: A Scholarly Analysis of a Business Phenomenon, ICFAI University Press, Hyderabad, India.
- Gandolfi, F. (2008), Learning from the Past – Downsizing Lessons for Managers, Journal of Management Research, 8(1), 3-17.
- Gandolfi, F. (2009), Where did Downsizing Go? A Review of 30 Years of a Strategic Business Phenomenon, The Australasian Journal of Business and Social Inquiry, 7(1): 40-65.
- Gandolfi, F. and Neck, P. (2008), Consequences, Payoffs, and Fallout of Downsizing (A Literature Review of Corporate Downsizing: Part 3), Review of International Comparative Management, 9(1): 55-78.
- Griggs, H. E. and Hyland, P. (2003), Strategic Downsizing and Learning Organizations, Journal of European Industrial Training, 24(2-4): 177-187.
- Halley, A. (1995), Downsizing, The Meridian International Institute, April 5, 1995 Report, McLean, VA.
- Hammer, M. and Champy, J. (1993), Reengineering the Corporation: a Manifesto for Business Revolution, HarperCollins Publisher, New York, NY.
- Kim, W. B. (2003), Economic Crisis, Downsizing and “Layoff Survivor's Syndrome”, Journal of Contemporary Asia, October 01.
- Kinnie, N., Hutchinson, S. and Purcell, J. (1998), Downsizing: Is it Always Lean and Mean? Personnel Review, 27(4): 296-311.
- Lechner, C. and Gesing, N. (2007), Strategic Alliances at Clariant: The Tianjin Joint Venture in China, Case Study, Institute of Management, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.
- Leyden, J. (2002), IBM Wants UK Workers to Walk the Plank, The Register. Downloaded on May 1, 2002, from www.theregister.co.uk/2002/05/01/ibm_wants_uk_workers/.
- Littler, C. R. (1998), Downsizing Organisations: the Dilemmas of Change, Human Resources Management Bulletin, CCH Australia Limited, Sydney.
- Littler, C. R. and Gandolfi, F. (2008), What Happened to Downsizing? Organizational Continuity, Managerial Fashion, and Signaling, Academy of Management Conference, Anaheim, paper presentation.
- Macky, K. (2004), Organisational Downsizing and Redundancies: The New Zealand Workers’ Experience, New Zealand Journal of Employment Relations, 29(1): 63-87.
- Makawatsakul, N. and Kleiner, B. H. (2003), The Effect of Downsizing on Morale and Attrition, Management Research News, 26: 2- 4.
- Martino, M. (2007), Pfizer: Top 5 Layoffs in 2007, Fierce Biotech. Downloaded on October 15, 2007, from http://www.fiercebiotech.com/special-reports/1-pfizer.
- Maurer, H. (2005), Downsizing in Detroit, The Business Week, December 5.
- McKinley, W., Sanchez, C. M. and Schick, A. G. (1995), Organizational Downsizing: Constraining, Cloning, Learning, Academy of Management Executive, 9(3): 121-145.
- Mirabal, N. and DeYoung, R. (2005), Downsizing as a Strategic Intervention, Journal of American Academy of Business, 6(1): 39-45.
- Mishra, A. K. and Spreitzer, G. M. (1998), Explaining How Survivors Respond to Downsizing: The Roles of Trust, Empowerment, Justice, and Work Redesign, Academy of Management Review, 23, 567-588.
- Ogg, E. (2007), Dell to Layoff 10 Per Cent of Workforce, CNET News.com, May 31.
- Peters, T. (1989), Thriving on Chaos, Pan Books, London.
- Pudelko, M. and Mendenhall, M. E. (2007), The Japanese Management Metamorphosis: What Western Executives Need to Know about Current Japanese Management Practices, Organizational Dynamics, 36(3): 274-287.
- Purcell, J. (1996), Contingent Workers and Human Resource Strategy: Rediscovering the Core-periphery Dimension, Journal of Professional HRM, 5(October): 16-23.
- Richtmyer, R. (2002), IBM Workers Fear the Axe, CNNMoney. Downloaded on May 10, 2002, from www.money.cnn.com/2002/05/09/technology/ibm/index.htm.
- Sahdev, K. (2003), Survivors' Reactions to Downsizing: The Importance of Contextual Factors, Human Resource Management Journal, 13(4): 56-74.
- Salemi, R. (2005), Leading After a Layoff: Five Proven Steps to Quickly Reignite your Team’s Productivity, Adams Media, Avon, MA.
- Shaw, D. G. (1993), Making Organization Change Happen: The Keys to Successful Delayering, Human Resource Planning, February 1.
- Stein, H. (1997), Death Imagery and the Experience of Organizational Downsizing: Or is Your Name on Schindler's List? Administration and Society, 29(2): 222-247.
- Story, L. and Dash, E. (2008), For Wall Street Workers, Axe Falls Quietly, The New York Times. Downloaded on May 16, 2008, from www.nytimes.com/2008/05/16/business/16layoff.html?_r=1&ref=business&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin.
- Tan, D. (2006), Intel Malaysia to Slash 2,000 Jobs in VSS Exercise, TheStar Online, September 4.
- The Online Reporter (2006), TW Finishes AOL Europe Sell-off; 'Right-sizing, Right-positioning', AOL, The Online Reporter, from www.onlinereporter.com/article.php?article_id=7910.
- Tomasko, R. (1988), Downsizing, Amacom, New York.
- Vlasic, B. and Hoffman, B. (2006), Painful, The Detroit News, January 24.
- White, J. B. (1996), Next Big Thing: Re-engineering Gurus Take Steps to Remodel Their Stalling Vehicles, Wall Street Journal, November 26.
- Wolf, C. (2002), IBM Makes 3rd Job Cut since November: Local Workers Among 100 Axed, Poughkeepsie Journal. Downloaded on February 7, 2002, from http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/projects/ibm/bu020702s1.shtml.
- Womack, J., Jones, D. and Roos, D. (1990), The Machine that Changed the World, Rawson Associates, New York, NY.
- Zyglidopoulos, S. C. (2003), The Impact of Downsizing on the Corporate Reputation for Social Performance, Journal of Public Affairs, 4(1): 11-25.
![](https://i-scholar.in/public/site/images/abstractview.png)
Abstract Views: 492
![](https://i-scholar.in/public/site/images/pdfview.png)
PDF Views: 6