OVERVIEW OF STRATEGIC ISSUES IN MANAGEMENT OF EMPLOYEES RETRENCHMENT AND LAYOFF IN ORGANIZATIONS

Abstract

Retrenching employees also called a reduction in force is not a new idea, historically it happens mainly to blue collar workers. In contrast, layoffs during the 1980s and 1990s were felt throughout the hierarchy and among professional ranks in an unprecedented number of organizations. The study adopted literature survey method to examine same concepts surrounding and management of employees retrenchment and layoff such as planning, productivity improvement, involving people in the process, communicating, taking care of those laid off, outplacement, out placement activities, taking care of survivors, and legal constraints on layoff’s. The paper concluded that organizations may need to carry out large scale layoffs or retrenchments. However, thorough advance planning for reducing the workforce is critical. The work also recommended that organizations should make effort to manage the survivors of a company-wide layoff.