Page 97 - Socially-responsible-restructuring-Effective-strategies-for-supporting-redundant-workers

Socially responsible restructuring
Effective strategies for supporting redundant workers

regions, notably around Emden in the north-west, AutoVision is the top player in
transfer market services. In 2008, the company had over 7 000 employees
(excluding redundant employees in AutoVision-run transfer companies), a
turnover of EUR 346 million, and 190 running projects.
Whereas companies seek to hire additional highly qualified personnel even
during restructuring, low-skilled workers, especially in manufacturing, constitute
the highest proportion of those being made redundant. These job cuts are often
carried out during economic downturns, but they are increasingly not being
reversed in times of upswing. Instead, companies resort to temporary work or
similar HR services to remain flexible in terms of labour cost.
The scope of transfer services requested by customer companies varies
considerably. Some already have a very detailed concept of the planned
restructuring processes; others turn to AutoVision for support during the
conceptualisation phase. Bigger firms are generally better prepared, although
there are exceptions of small companies already holding elaborate restructuring
plans. Besides lacking experience, a reason to request support already in the
planning phase is the desire to conduct a ‘quiet’ restructuring, to avoid damage to
a company’s image. Interviewees further stressed that successful preparation of
restructuring and transfer measures depends critically on the grade and quality of
the work council’s commitment and contributions.

6.1.2. Restructuring and job losses
The size of job cuts AutoVision deals with ranges between layoffs of just a few
people and closure of entire plants. The biggest number of redundancies in a
single restructuring case was 6 000 employees. Transfer companies varied in
size from six employees (from a small engineering firm) to 470 employees.
In general, all kinds of employees, regardless of occupation and educational
background, are regularly affected by layoffs. However, the risk of redundancy is
significantly higher for unskilled employees, and those in manufacturing
departments. Further, there are always certain groups which are targeted
preferentially, namely temporary workers, workers with short-term contracts, and
employees close to retirement age.
Occupations secure from job cuts often exist. They are usually determined
through the corporate strategy and comprise key functions deemed
indispensable for achieving some strategic goal. AutoVision sometimes even
provides placement and employee development services for these positions
parallel to services for redundant workers from other occupations. A different job
protection measure sometimes used is the agreement of an employment

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