As redundancies are announced and the recruitment industry feels the pinch, no certainties have yet emerged about how slow the slow-down is going to be. Tomorrow’s jobless figures will give an indication of the current state of play. Today the CIPD recommended caution in relation to job cuts, noting how many companies have in the past been unable to recover from a downturn because job cuts had left them without the necessary skills base.
Geoff Armstrong, director general of the institute, stated that no company in the developed world can hope to compete solely on cost performance: “There will always be an emerging economy where things can be done more cheaply.” He reminded employers of the losses caused by redundancies in terms of intellectual and skills shortages, and in damage done to relations with remaining employees.
A recent survey by the CIPD and the Reed Academy shows that most employees would want their employers to examine every other alternative to redundancy, and would themselves be prepared to try other routes, including time off for study, reduced hours, and pay cuts to work for a charity.
The CIPD is recommending that, within a sound financial context, companies should look at all other strategies for coping with the downturn. These could include restructuring work practices, and pursuing new markets. While accepting that sometimes redundancies are inevitable, the institute is advising companies to reassess all of the positive values of job stability.
