Downsizing, restructuring, rightsizing, even a term as obscure as census readjustment has been used to describe the plague that has been affecting corporate America for years and has left many of its hardest working employees without work. In the year 2001 we had nearly 1.8 million jub cuts, that’s almost three times as much as the year 2000(Matthew Benz). In the 1990's, one million managers of American corporations with salaries over $40,000 also lost their jobs. In total, Fortune 500 companies have eliminated 4.4 million positions since 1979 including the 65,000 positions cut in February of 2002 (Ellen Florian). Although this downsizing of companies can have many reasons behind it and cannot be avoided at times, there are simple measures a company can take to make the process easier on the laid-off employees and those who survive with the company.
Downsizing, restructuring, rightsizing, even a term as obscure as census readjustment has been used to describe the plague that has been affecting corporate America for years and has left many of its hardest working employees without work. In the 1980’s, twenty-five percent of middle management was eliminated in the United States (Greenberg/Baron 582). In the 1990’s, one million managers of American corporations with salaries over $40,000 also lost their jobs (Greenberg/Baron 582). In total, Fortune 500 companies have eliminated 4.4 million positions since 1979 (Greenberg/Baron 627). Although this downsizing of companies can have many reasons behind it and cannot be avoided at times, there are simple measures a company can take to make the process easier on the laid-off employees and those who survive with the company.
Newport, Frank. "Majority of Workers Not Worried about Being Laid off." Gallup. 10 Feb. 2009. Web. 14 Mar. 2010.
Throughout the 1970s, the ability of any one person to work hard enough to transcend social stratification in the United States became difficult due to various domestic challenges. The reality Americans begun to see during the ‘70s was bleak, this being contributed in great part to ecopolitical events. In the year 1974, a recession begun that has continued to affect the United States economy to this very day. Harold Meyerson, a writer and journalist for the Washington Post and The American Prospect in the article “The 40-Year Slump” notes “The middle-income jobs of the nation’s postwar boom years have disproportionately vanished. Low-wage jobs have disproportionately burgeoned. Employment has become less secure. Benefits have been cut. The dictionary definition of “layoff” has changed, from denoting a temporary severance from one’s job to denoting a permanent severance” (1). It is important to consider this point because it really lays the foundation of the 1970’s; one of little hope, and one shaken by what became known as the 1973-1975 Recession. This recession affected practically every person living in the U.S, and changed the perception of the workplace. Through low-economic growth and high inflation, the economic term “stagflation” came about, and negatively influenced the success of countless Americans. Alejandro Reuss, co-editor for the magazine Dollars & Sense in the article “That ‘70s Crises” asserts "The economy seemed trapped in the new nightmare of “stagflation,” so called because it combined low economic growth and high unemployment (“stagnation”) with high rates of inflation” (1). This is a valuable point to consider, as this term is still used to this day, and has affected all aspects of life for many Americans. Mic...
It was story that has become altogether too frequent in typical business America. Company spins off from parent company for financial gain. Company goes public on the stock exchange. In an effort to stay competitive in the market and show growth for their investors, company reorganizes their corporate structure. For a year rumors circulate, and finally three months before the new year whole divisions of the company including the Finance, Sales and Human Resources get put on the chopping block . The new version of the company is supposed to be lean not necessarily mean. As company outsources and right sizes, the amount of work flowing downward continues. At the site level Human Resource Managers are offered severance packages. A single Human Resource Director replaces ten Human Resource Managers and Directors that were forme...
Watching Roger and Me in 2004 does not have the same impact it had in 1989. GM was one of the first companies to "downsize," and it was a big shock to everyone when it happened. Since then downsizing has become a trend with thousands of companies, and people nowadays are not surprised when they are laid off. Roger Smith is only one of many CEO’s who make millions while lower employees lose their jo...
First, in order to better understand the scale of the problem let’s take a closer look at the numbers. Since late 2007, nearly 8.5 million jobs were lost; in most severe times 11 thousand people were receiving pink slips on a daily basis. As of today, official unemployment statistics represents 10.5 million of Americans who are actively seeking employment within the last four weeks. However, this number excludes so called “discouraged workers", those who have no luck in their job search for a period longer than that. If we add to this list those who are currently employed, but looking to change their workplace, the competition becomes sky rocking. But even without looking at the numbers, those who face job search these days know that it takes months, if not years to get one; acquiring employment becomes exhausting and affects one’s economic and emotional wellbeing. However, there are also people who solely blame unemployed for their hardships, and those who underestimate the dangerous effects that long-term unemployment has on a society as a whole.
The article entitled “February Best Month for Hiring Since 2006” by Andrew Soergel is an article that not only gives hope to Americans all over the country, but also is an article that emphasizes the importance the government has when it comes to making changes to policies that effect the participation in employment. During this time, many Americans have had a hard time with employment. Obviously, this affects a person’s a life in a huge way. The article “February Best Month for Hiring Since 2006” shows the many ways that being employed or not being employed can affect a person’s life. Not only does this article emphasize that point, but it also does a really good job of showing how the government affects employment as a whole. It amazes me
“Serafini, Marilyn Werber, national journal, 09-29-2001”. In the article “As more jobs vanish, the worries mount”, it states Unemployment experts and health care analysts are concerned that for the nations safety net to cope with what may be millions of laid-off and uninsured people. This is basically saying that they are worried for the country on how it will handle the millions being laid off. Will it be like the great depression all over again? That’s what people are worried about. The bad part is the government doesn’t seem to be doing anything about the problem. They are the only way out of this mess, and they aren’...
In the Wall Street Journal dated September 6th 2013, an article titled, ‘Unemployment Drops for the Wrong Reasons’ describes how unemployment has dropped in the United States based on the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics population survey. According to Izzo (2013), there was a drop in unemployment rate to 7.3% by 0.1% in August 2013. This was coupled with a drop of broader measure of unemployment by 0.3% to 13.7%. On closer scrutiny, the drop in unemployment came from wrong reasons (Izzo, 2013). The arguments in the article are that the decline in the rate of unemployment is purely due adverse factors in the US economy. The 0.1% was approximately equal to 115,000 people.