Tag Archives: layoffs

More Reasons to Avoid Layoffs

Posted on February 11, 2010 by John Hunter

Lay Off the Layoffs by Jeffrey Pfeffer As its former head of human resources once told me: “If people are your most important assets, why would you get rid of them?” … In fact, there is a growing body of academic research suggesting that firms incur big costs when they cut workers. Some of these costs are obvious, such as the direct costs of severance and outplacement, and some are intuitive, such as the toll on morale and productivity as … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Health care, Lean thinking, Management, Management Articles, Psychology, Respect | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Five Managerial Fallacies Concerning Layoffs

Posted on September 28, 2009 by John Hunter

The Top Five Managerial Fallacies Concerning Layoff Survivors by David Noer, author of Healing the Wounds: Overcoming the Trauma of Layoffs and Revitalizing Downsized Organizations. The overwhelming consensus of downsizing research is that layoffs do not achieve their going in productivity goals. Survivors of most organizations are angry, depressed, anxious and fearful. They are not able or willing to take risks or focus on increasing customer service. At the very time organizations need them to be the most creative and … Continue reading →

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Cutting Hours Instead of People

Posted on December 23, 2008 by John Hunter

When financial and economic realities reach the point that labor costs must be cut I believe a good option to consider is cutting hours (and pay) instead of people. Continue reading →

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Some Firms Cut Costs Without Resorting to Layoffs

Posted on December 17, 2008 by John Hunter

Some Firms Cut Costs Without Resorting to Layoffs Hypertherm Inc. has never laid off a permanent employee in its 40-year history. A 20% downturn in sales in recent months led the closely held maker of metal-cutting equipment to eliminate overtime, cut temporary staff and delay a facility expansion, says Chief Executive Dick Couch. Managers are transferring employees to busy segments from those with less work. The Hanover, N.H., company also may bring some outsourced manufacturing in-house to keep its 1,100 … Continue reading →

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Honda has Never had Layoffs and has been Profitable Every Year

Posted on November 25, 2008 by John Hunter

Engineers Rule, 2006 Longtime auto analyst John Casesa, who now runs a consulting company, says, “There’s not a company on earth that better understands the culture of engineering.” The strategy has worked thus far. Honda has never had an unprofitable year. It has never had to lay off employees. … The lean and compact Fukui, like all of his predecessors, is an engineer who started in R&D and later ran the subsidiary. While other auto chief-executives-to-be were punching keyboards in … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Respect | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Bad Management Results in Layoffs

Posted on June 3, 2007 by John Hunter

In response to Is Laying People off Really Anti-Lean? [the broken link was removed]: Let’s say you, a Lean enthusiast, are named CEO of a mid sized manufacturing company. Let’s also assume your market has turned down and the constraint is clearly the market. Let’s also assume you need to improve operating income above all else. The final assumption is the company you inherited is not even good at mass production. They just stink at everything. If you come into … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Popular, quote, Respect, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , | 18 Comments

Trust: Respect for People

Posted on June 30, 2006 by John Hunter

Respect for People [the broken link was removed*], Toyota.co.jp Respect for People has always been important to Toyota, and nowhere is this more evident than in the relationship among Toyota associates. … There has been only one exception to this rule throughout Toyota’s entire history. In June 1950, during a postwar period of great hardship in Japan, the company was forced to choose between corporate restructuring or risking complete collapse. Then-President Kiichiro Toyoda battled for months for the sake of … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Lean thinking, Management, Respect, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments